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Full text of "Exhibitors Herald World (Jan-Mar 1929)"

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X 


Scanned  from  the  collection  of 
David  Pierce 


Coordinated  by  the 
Media  History  Digital  Library 
www.mediahistoryproject.org 


Funded  by  a  donation  from 
John  McElwee 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/exhibitorsherald94quig 


r 


I 


1 


Field  Open  to  All  Quality  Sound  Devices 


EXHIBITORS 


RALD 


-G-M  PUTS  THE  JOY  IN  LIFE! 


THE  BUNK 

IN 

6  REELS 


— And  the  folks  ask  you  when 
you're  going  to  have  another 
big  one  like  "Ben-Hur"  and 
"The  Big  Paradt 


A' 


When  you  watch 
the  crowds  stay 
away  in  droves 
and  you  wonder 
what  the  future 
can  possibly  hold — 


A 


—And  then  comes  M-G-M's  "THE  TRAIL  OF  '98" 
with  more  spectacle  in  it  than  "Big  Parade"  and 
"Ben-Hur"  combined  —And  you  get  behind  it  with 
smashing  showmanship  —  And  the  folks  come 
packing  your  Show  Shop— And  the 
money  pours  in— Hotsy!  Totsy!  Isn't 
it  the  truth  that  M-G-M  aluays  puts 
the  Joy  in  Life! 


And  you  feel  that  a  really 
Giant  Picture  would  sure  pep 
things  up  for  vou — 


5  •  U. 


Metro 


►ID 


toy. 


M 


Ay 


'  iole  Vol  94.  No.  I  (Vol.  Jb.  So.  4  . 


Entered  as  secoud-class  matter.  August  2".  /«/,"  at  ike  Host  Ulftce  at 
Chicago.  III.,  u-uier  the  act  of  March  J,  IS7<*  Published  at  407  South 
Dearborn  St..        -*ca.    Subscription  SS-00  a  tear     Single  cofies   ?f  cents 


lami.irv 


A  NEW  YEAR'S  MESSAGE  TO 
PRODUCERS  AND  DISTRIBUTORS: 


(JFor  economical  distribution,  pictures  must  be  at  least  two-thirds 
sold  before  the  salesman  calls  at  the  theatre. 

In  advance  of  the  salesman's  call — for  sound,  wasteless  and  effec- 
tive selling — there  must  be  supplied  a  detailed  and  comprehensive 
campaign  of  information,  facts  and  reasons  for  claims  which  will 
be  asserted. 

Every  exhibitor  has  the  right  to  demand  that  he  shall  be  supplied 
in  advance  of  the  salesman's  call  with  sufficient  information  about 
product,  personalities  and  showmanship  angles  to  enable  him  to 
deal  knowingly  and  intelligently  with  the  salesman. 

Every  exhibitor  does  demand  this  right  and  distributors  who  fail 
to  recognize  it  pay  the  penalty  in  lower  grosses  and  higher  sell- 
ing costs. 


4|The  HERALD-WORLD  is  the  proven  best  medium  for  informing 
all  of  the  exhibitors  everywhere  about  product;  its  editorial  pages 
acquaint  the  exhibitors  with  the  latest  news  of  the  industry  gen- 
erally and  its  product,  together  with  sound  guidance  on  the  latest 
and  best  in  showmanship  methods. 

Its  advertising  pages  afford  specific  information  on  specific  product 
— to  the  end  of  more  successful  buying  for  the  exhibitor  and  more 
successful  selling — at  lower  costs — for  the  distributor. 

—MARTIN  J.  QUIGLEY. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


PARAMOUNT 

offers  the  greatest  array  of 
important  box  office  product 
SOUND  and  SILENT  ever 
released  in  one  single  month 
in  the  history  of  pictures! 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


INTERFERENCE  and 


ALL-TALKING  UNIT.  First  great  quality  100%  talking  feature.  Straight  from  $2  S.R.O.  run  at  Criterion,  N.  Y. 
Evelyn  Brent,  Clive  Brook,  William  Powell,  Doris  Kenyon.  Directed  by  Roy  J.  Pomeroy.  Based  on  Mendes  Production. 
Plus  EDDIE  CANTOR  in  screaming  short.  Plus  RUTH  ETTING,  Ziegfeld  beauty  and  blues  singer.  The  feature  picture, 

iiInterference'>'>,  also  available  as  fine  silent  picture. 


Anne  Nichols9 

"ABIE'S  IRISH  ROSE 

The  most  successful  stage  hit  of  all  times!  Now  a  quality  Paramount  sound  picture.  With  Jean  Hersholt  talking.  Nancy 
Carroll  singing  and  dancing.  Charles  "Buddy"  Rogers  playing  the  piano.  Victor  Fleming  Production.  Marvelous  music 
score.   Triumphant  pre-release  engagements  in  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati  and  San  Francisco.   Also  available  silent. 


THE 

CASE  of  LENA  SMITH" 


One  of  1929's  dramatic  sensations!  With  Esther  Ralston  and  James  Hall.  Directed  by  Josef  von  Sternberg,  the  man  who 
made  "Underworld",  "The  Dragnet"  and  "Docks  of  New  York".  Adolph  Zukor  wires  personally  from  Holly  wood :  "Another 
von  Sternberg  triumph.  Miss  Ralston's  greatest  performance  by  far".    Silent  picture  only. 


i 


"THE 

SHOPWOBN  ANGEL" 

With  Nancy  Carroll  and  Gary  Cooper.  Richard  Wallace  Production.  Synchronized  with  music  score  and  sound  effects. 
One  reel  all-talking.  Flashy,  tender,  grippingly  dramatic — every  element  for  a  great  box  office  attraction.  Miss  Carroll 
singing  "A  Precious  Little  Thing  Called  Love",  sure  to  be  one  of  the  song  hits  of  ail  times.   Also  available  silent. 


] 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS    H  ERALD  -WORLD 


5 


the  DOCTOR'S  SECRET 


AXD   ALL-TALKIXG   UNIT.     A  100  c  talking  feature  picture  from  J.  M.  Barrie's  celebrated  stage  hit,  "Half 
:  an  Hour".    With  Ruth  Chatterton,  H.  B.  Warner,  John  Loder,  Robert  Edeson.    Directed  by  William  de  Mille.  Plus 
BORR.AH  MLNNEYITCH  and  his  Musical  Rascals  in  de  luxe  jazz  short.     Plus  "JUST  ONE  WORD",  novelty  playlet 
produced  by  Joseph  Santley.    Sound  picture  only. 


REHIND 
THE  GERMAN  LINES 


Jirect  from  successful  long  run  at  Rialto  Theatre,  N.  Y.  German  war  secrets  from  behind  the  lines  revealed  for  first  time 

I.'- 

n  official  film  photographed  in  actual  battles.  Ufa  Production.  Synchronized  with  great  music  score  and  effects.  Also 
nailable  silent. 


SHORT  FEATURES 

lie  class  of  the  market !  BOBBY  VERNON  in  "Why  Gorillas  Leave  Home".  BILLY  DOOLEY  in  "Happy  Heels". 
"aramount-Christie  Comedies.  Two  releases  each  of  the  popular  KRAZY  KAT  and  INKWELL  IMPS  Carbons.  Two 
ssues  weekly  of  PARAMOUNT  NEWS,  the  industry's  leading  news  reel. 

NATIONAL  NEWS- 


campaign  starting  January  1st  in  700 


PAPER  ADVERTISING 

tewspapers  in  400  key  cities,  reaching  iCO:000,000  readers!  Containing  name  and  date  of  theatre  playing  "Interference"'. 
Idling  Paramount's  amazing  talking  picture  pro^-'m  to  audiences  in  advance. 

(paramount  (pictures 

HEADQUARTERS 


1929  MOTION 


a  GRAND  opening 


"Christmas  day  was  the 
anniversary  day  of  the 
founding  of  Fox  Films,  and 
that  hardy  organization 
earned  double  felicitations 
by  giving  to  the  amusement 
world  a  remarkable  proof  of 
its  high  standing  in  the  realm 
of  picture  drama,  in  Old 
Arizona'  gives  by  far  the 
best  demonstration  of  the 
speaking  screen  ever  put 
forth.  Clear,  vibrant,  un- 
forced, the  speech  of  the 
characters  came  startlingly 
close  to  that  which  had  be- 
hind it  the  breath  of  life,  in 
Old  Arizona'is  nothing  short 
of  triumphant.  It  advances 
the  art  of  the  talkies  dis- 
tinctly ahead  of  any  rival 
attempt." 

 Monroe  Lathrop, 

Los  Angeles  Express 


"  in  Old  Arizona'  is  a 
breezy  romance.  It  is  a  col- 
orful narrative,  with  excel- 
lent playing  by  Baxter.Lowe 
and  Dorothy  Burgess,  and 
the  charm  that  a  Spanish 
accent  lends  to  the  dialog." 

 Llewellyn  Miller, 

Los  Angeles  Record 


IN 
OLD 
RIZON 

wrecks 
house  record 
at 

WORLD 
PREMIERE 

CRITERION 

Theatre 

•os  Angeles 


WILLIAM  FOX 

presents 


"  in  Old  Arizona'  is  not 
only  infinitely  better  than 
the  usual  crop  of  films,  but 
it  is  significant  because  it 
is  the  first  outdoor  talkie 
and  really  the  first  one  to 
combine  the  technique  o 
the  screen  and  the  stage 
and  the  first  one  to  mak 
me  forget  the  mechanics 
sound  device.  It  has  all  th< 
gentle  satire  and  irony  o 
that  great  short  stor 
writer,  O.  Henry,  and  th 
stretch  of  desert  country  i 
so  gorgeous  and  the  moun 
tainous  country  so  effectiv 
that  you  would  be  conten 
just  to  look  at  some  of  the 
magnificent  scenic  effects. 
Warner  Baxter  as  the  bandit 
has  never  been  seen  in  aj 
portrayal  that  is  presented 
with  so  much  feeling. 
Edmund  Lowe  is  again  a 
hardboiled  sergeant — the 
same  kind  that  won  him 
plaudits  in  'What  Price 
Glory.'    Dorothy  Burgess 
performance  of  Tonia  Maris 
is  a  classic.  There  is  credit 
enough  for  both  Raou 
Walsh  and  Irving  Cum 
mings  for  the  direction  o: 


THE  FIRST  ALL-TALKING 


with  EDMUND  LOWE  <  DOROTHY  BURGESS 

WARNER  BAXTER 


T 


i       roving  beyond  all  doubt  thalk 


that  Wrecked  Records, 
and  made  the  Critics  Rave  • 


he  picture.  Take  my  advice 
md  see  'In  Old  Arizona.'  It 
s  well  worth  your  time  and 
noney." 

Louella  Parsons, 
Los  Angeles  Examiner 


'In  Old  Arizona'  is  the 
irst  big  outdoor  talkie  and 
surprising  disclosure  of 
vhat  can  be  done  with  a 
nicrophone  in  the  open  air. 
t  presents  a  sort  of  'What 
5rice  Glory'  story  with 
vestern  trimmings.  One 
hing  that  it  absolutely  as- 
ures  is  a  different  sort  of 
how  than  has  ever  been 
en  at  any  time  before.  For 
his  reason  'In  Old  Arizona' 
^jvill  perhaps  in  days  to  come 
>e  reckoned  as  epochal.  The 
?oice  of  Warner  Baxter  reg 
Jl Asters  notably  well.  Dorothy 

If  ft 

,3urgess  finds  herself  quite 


icclimated  to  this  sirenic 
l%le.  Edmund  Lowe  amuses 

vjlt- 

L  vith  his  portrayal  of  a  hard- 
boiled  soldier." 

Edwin  Schallert, 
Los  Angeles  Times 


IN 
OLD 
RIZON 

is  just  the  start! 

5  more  100% 

ALL-TALKING 
FULL-LENGTH 
FEATURES 

now  ready  or  in  production: 

The  Ghost  Talks 
Hearts  In  Dixie 
The  Valiant 
Speakeasy 
hru  Different  Eyes 


"  'In  Old  Arizona'  moves. 
It  is  exciting.  Its  dialog  is 
well  written.  Its  voices  are 
well  recorded  and  its  play- 
ers walk  about  in  an  unself- 
consciousway.  It  is  destined 
to  please  many  audiences 
and  to  win  over  converts  for 
the  talkies.  Nor  should  its 
gorgeous  backgrounds  be 
forgotten." 

 -Harrison  Carroll, 

Los  Angeles  Herald 


"This  production  is  of  un- 
usual merit.  Expertly  cast 
with  the  speaking  princi- 
pals all  boasting  of  past 
stage  experience  has  in- 
sured the  talking  perfection 
of  the  drama.  The  dialog 
has  been  well  handled  by 
the  players.  They  have 
worked  up  a  perfect  climax 
which  is  guaranteed  to  hold 
the  spectators'  interest." 

 Harry  Mines, 

Los  Angeles  Daily  News 


FEATURE  FILMED  OUTDOORS 


ZONA 


Directed  RAOUL  WAbSH  ond  Story  and  aiAu  daddy 
in  Dialog  by    IRVING  CUMMINGS       Dialog  by  1 UM  " At"* 1 


 ^|  

tfROVIETONE  talkers  talk  profits  9 


8 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


DRAMAPHONE 


of! 


==i:r.=r-  

„„.»o  cos"-"0  - 


A  SOUND  INVESTMENT 

DRAMAPHONE  talking  and  sound  projection  equipment  comes  to  you  not  as  an  ex- 
periment   .    .    .    but  as  a  tried  and  proved  product. 

DRAMAPHONE  synchronized  talking  and  sound  equipment  is  the  product  and  brains 
of.  the  most  capable  electrical  and  mechanical  engineers  in  the  country. 

DRAMAPHONE  projection  equipment  has  already  proved  itself  in  actual  test  by  ex- 
hibitors. 

INSTALLATIONS  are  being  made  daily. 

SOUND  projection  equipment  cannot  be  judged  without  seeing  and  hearing  .  .  .  you 
must  see  and  hear  the  DRAMAPHONE  ...  it  will  surprise  you  by  its  performance 
as  well  as  its  low  cost. 

Come  to  Chicago  or  see  our  nearest  distributor  .  .  .  see  and  hear  this  remarkable 
instrument.    If  distance  forbids  wire  or  write  us  for  complete  information. 

Drama  phone  Corporation 


422  South  Wabash  Ave.,  ChiYago,  Illinois 


Distributors. 


Telephone — Wabash  8473 


L  &  M  Distributing  Co.,  2621  Vine  St.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 
Schlank-Henigson,  6912  Hollywood  Bh      Hollywood,  Calif. 
Dramaphone  Distributing  Corp.,  1506  Davenport  St.,  Omaha,  Neb. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


-  and  How 


MELODY  OF  LOVE 

Carl  Laemmle's  100%  Talking  Picture. 

THE  LAST  WARNING 

Laura  La  Plante.   Paul  Leni  Production. 

GIVE  AND  TAKE 

George  Sidney,  Jean  Hersholt.  Wm.  Beaudine 
Production. 

THE  CHARLATAN 

George  Melford  Production. 

COHENS  AND  KELLYS 
in  ATLANTIC  CITY 

George  Sidney,  Vera  Gordon,  Kate  Price,  Mack  Swain. 
Wm.  J.  Craft  Production. 

THE  SHAKEDOWN 

James  Murray,  Barbara  Kent.  Wm.  Wyler  Production. 

COME  ACROSS 

Mary  Nolan.    Wm.  Wyler  Production. 

RED  HOT  SPEED 

Reginald  Denny.  Joseph  Henabery  Production. 


HIS  LUCKY  DAY 

Reginald  Denny.    Directed  by  Edward  CUne. 

IT  CAN  BE  DONE 

Glenn  Tryon.    Fred  Newmeyer  Production. 

GIRL  on  the  BARGE 

By    Rupert    Hughes.     Jean    Hersholt,  Sally 
O'Neil,  Malcolm  McGregor.     Edward  Sloman 
Production. 


BARGAIN  IN 

THE  KREMLIN 

By  Sir  Philip  Gibbs.     Joseph  Schildkraut. 
Directed  by  Edward  Sloman. 

THE  CLIMAX 

From  famous  play  by  Edward  Locke. 


CLEAR  THE  DECKS     THE  GREAT 

CINEMA  MURDER 

By  Leonard  Fields. 


Reginald  Denny.     A.  Joseph  Henabery 
Production. 


THAT  BLONDE 

Laura  La  Plante. 

ONE  RAINY  NIGHT 

Laura  La  Plante. 

DANGEROUS 

DIMPLES 

Laura  La  Plante. 


FLAMING 

DAUGHTERS 

By  Beatrice  Van. 

BARNUM 

WAS  RIGHT 

From  play  by  Philip  Bartholomae,  John 
Meehan. 


YOU  CANT 

f  HTJ:0VE     THE  HAUNTED 


An  Ernst  Laemmle  Production. 

LONESOME 

Paul  Fejos'  Masterpiece.    Glenn  Tryon, 
Barbara  Kent. 

BROADWAY 

Paul    Fejos    Production.      Original  play 
dialogue. 

THE  MINSTREL 

SHOW 

Eddie  Leonard. 

THE  KING  OF  JAZZ 

Paul  Whiteman 

SHANNONS  OF 

BROADWAY 

with  James  Gleason.     Directed  by  WesLy 
Ruggles. 


LADY 

By  AJela  Rogers  St.  John. 

THE  BRAGGART 

Jean  Hersholt.     Edward  Sloman  Production. 

ERIC  THE  GREAT 

Conrad  Veidt,  Mary  Philbin.     Paul  Fejos 
Production. 

SHORT  SUBJECTS 

BAILEY  and  BARNUM,  THE 
THREE  BROX  SISTERS,  ZIM- 
MERMAN and  GRAND  VILLE. 
"THE  COLLEGIANS"  —  Fourth 
Series.  Supervised  by  Carl  Laemmle,  Jr. 

(Note :  Two  negatives,  sound  and 
silent,  on  all  Universal  talking  pic- 
tures excepting  "Melody  of  Love.") 


StUnt  or  Sound-  Cart  Laemmle  leads  the  Way///_ 


10 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


NOW  OVEK  200  FEK  MONTH! 


That's  the  way  theaters  all 
over  the  eountry  are  installing 
Phototone  Sight- Sound  Pol  lev 


T: 


|HE  seven  hundred  theaters  now 
using  Phototone  are  getting  the 
crowds  with  "sight-sound" 
programs.  And  they  didn't  pay  $11,000  for  the 
equipment.  It'll  pay  you  to  get  on  the  "sight- 
sound"  bandwagon  with  them — especially  since 
you  can  do  it  for  only  $500. 

That's  all  Phototone  costs  with  baffle  board 
and  dynamic  cone  speaker.  It  is  $575  with  two 
baffle  board  speakers  and  with  cue  cabinet  con- 
taining fifty  records  and  fifty  filing  devices.  All 
the  sound  effects  and  themes  you  can  use  for  all 
the  situations  in  your  bookings.  Music  by  the 
world's  greatest  orchestras. 

Now's  your  chance  to  start  packing  the  crowds 
in  for  real  honest-to-goodness  "sight -sound" 
programs.  Beat  your  competitor  to  it. 


I^OR  small  annual  cost  you  can  equip  your  theater  with  Photo- 
tone's  new  cue  and  record  service.  This  gives  you  a  circulat- 
ing lihrary  of  sound  records  made  exclusively  for  Phototone — also 
standard  records  for  incidental  use,  and  special  noise  records 
such  as  mob  sounds,  growls,  shrieks,  sirens,  etc. 

By  means  of  this  new  sound  service  your  Phototone  disc  li- 
brary will  be  replenished  with  cue  service  made  up  by  thcThemalic 
Music  Cue  Service  of  New  York,  which  is  also  writing  original 
scores  for  Phototone. 

Mail  the  eoupon.  Get  the  details. 

Check  the  information  you  want  and  mail  this  coupon  to  the 
Phototone  Company,  North  Vernon,  Ind. 

Record  Cue  Service  □ 
Phototone  Equipment  □ 

NAME  


ADDRESS  - 


COMPANY 
CITY  


STATE. 


Be  sure  and  hear  the 
new  Phototone  cone 
sound  board  speaker 


"31  Broadway,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
i  Vine  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
'"orbes  St.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


The  new  Phototone  cone 
sound  board  is  clear  and 
distinct — built  for  long 
hard  service 


Phototone  Branch  Offices 

Neil  Thompson,  Argos,  Ind.  220  W.  Fourth  St.,  Charlotte,  N.  C. 

(for  Indianapolis  and  Cleveland)  845  S.  Wabash  Ave..  Chicago,  111. 

.'{27  E.  Sixth  St.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio  3706  Broadway,  K--  isas  City,  Mo. 


705  W.  Crand  Ave.,  Oklahoma,  City,  Okla. 
5332  Chicago  Ave.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
Phil  Pierce  Company,  Dallas,  Texas 


E  YOUR  PII  T1REK  WITH  THE  WORLD'S  GREATEST  MUSIC 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS    HERALD -WORLD 


II 


The  Great  American  Picture — 
Breaking  All  American  Records! 

Showmen  Everywhere  Report  Huge  Grosses  and  Satisfied  Patrons 
Who  Enthusiastically  Spread  Praise  for  "Uncle  Tom" 

The  Capitol  Theatre,  Dallas,  Tex.,  wires:  "'Uncle  Tom'  good  for  ten  days  more.  Ex- 
pect to  make  up  all  Summer  losses  with  it."  From  Charles  F.  Smith,  of  the  Uptown 
Theatre,  Kansas  City,  comes:  "Just  completed  week  of  tremendous  business  on  'Uncle 
Tom.'  All  records  smashed."  Then  R.  D.  Hutchinson  wires  from  the  Liberty  Theatre, 
Oklahoma  City,  Okla. :  "Very  happy  advise  necessary  hold  over  'Uncle  Tom'  for  second 
week.  Did  tremendous  business."  Vogel  Gettier,  of  the  Capitol  Theatre,  Grand  Island, 
Neb.,  has  this  to  say:  "'Uncle  Tom'  has  broken  all  records  in  its  first  three-day  showing, 
topping  year's  best  supers."  From  Kane,  Pa.— the  Chase  Street  Theatre— comes:  "  'Uncle 
Tom'  is  Universale  screen  masterpiece.  Opened  to  record-breaking  business  despite  heavy 
opposition."  "Had  plenty  of  competition,  but  they  couldn't  lick  'Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,'"  says 
L.  S.  Braun,  of  the  New  Square  Theatre,  Ottumwa,  la.,  "Now  we  know  Universal  has 
the  big  ones."  Frank  C.  Reinecke,  of  the  Paramount  Theatre,  Akron,  Ohio,  declares:  "I 
have  seen  a  lot  of  big  pictures  and  I  have  played  a  lot  of  big  pictures,  but  beyond  any  ques- 
tion of  doubt  'Uncle  Tom'  is  the  biggest  and  best  box-office  sensation  that  has  ever  been 
released  by  any  distributor."  From  White,  S.  D.,  comes  the  message,  signed  by  K.  Cum- 
mings,  of  the  Opera  House:  "Wonderful  picture  in  every  respect.  Better  than  I  thought  it 
could  be  or  would  be.  I  wish  all  the  so-called  specials  were  as  good."  R.  W.  Mussleman, 
of  the  Princess  Theatre  Lincoln,  Kansas,  writes:  "'Uncle  Tom's  Cabin'  is  a  wonderful 

g  picture.  Drew  in -people  that  I  had  never  seen  in  town  before." 
e  Palm  Theatre,  Pueblo,  Colo.,  says:  "Just  completed  sensa- 
om.'  Business  phenomenal.  Biggest  seven  days  ever  done." 
Keith  Theatre,  North  Platte,  Neb. ,  writes :  "  I  wish  to  say 
t  more  comment  from  patrons  than  any  picture  ever  played 
exhibitor  anywhere  that  I  believe  'Uncle  Tom's  Cabin'  to 
11  the  so-called  specials,  and  that  their  patrons  all  will  be 
ney's  Theatre,  Point  Marruon,  Penn.,  says:  "This  my 
fell  you  'Uncle  Tom's  Cabin'  just  established  a  record 
eyond  all  conception."  A  wire  from  Charles  F.  Smith, 
'heatre,  Wichita,  Kansas,  states:  "Just  closing  week 
Cabin.'  All  records  smashed.  Despite  change  of 
d  special  performance  at  nine  thirty,  this  morning 


emmle  leads  the  Way/// 


drawing  card  an 
while 
ti 


12 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


The  NEW  company 

with  a  NEW  idea 


Exhibitor's  Choice  Selling 
Begins  this  month 


Photoplays  made  where/tKe  story's  laid 


PICTURES    ACTUALLY  PRODUCED  IN  EUROPE  ASM 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


13 


INCORPORATED 


THE  NEW  YQ§K 

pT"5L!:  LIBRARY 

4231294 

ASrOR,  I.ZXOX  AND 
TILOEN  r  J  JNDATIOMS 
R  19C9  L 


IMPORTERS  and  DISTRIBUTORS 

Throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada 

A  Statement  of  Purpose  and  Policy 


IT  IS  THE  purpose  and  ambition  of  the  foun- 
ders of  this  Company  to  make  it  the  North 
American  Clearing  House  for  the  representa- 
tive films  of  other  countries.  We  invite  all 
overseas  producers  to  investigate  our  distribu- 
tion facilities. 

The  company  is  managed  by  American  show- 
men whose  knowledge  of  production  progress 
abroad  has  convinced  them  that  overseas  pro- 
ducers are  now  making  enough  pictures  which 
will  pay  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  to 
justify  a  nation-wide  distributing  organization 
devoted  exclusively  to  their  exploitation.  It  is 
the  first  and  only  national  distributing  com- 
pany to  specialize  in  imported  pictures  exclu- 
sively. 

There  is  real  box-office  and  entertainment 
value  in  "photoplays  made  where  the  story's 
laid."  Good  pictures  from  other  countries,  the 
romances  of  the  peoples  of  distant  lands,  will 
afford  an  occasional  welcome  change  from  the 
usual  domestic  pictures. 

We  will  import  only  those  pictures  which 
have  quality,  novelty,  unusual  stories  and  char- 


acters, authentic  and  beautiful  locations  and 
backgrounds — pictures  which  could  not  as  well 
be  made  in  America. 

We  will  handle  only  those  pictures  which 
after  screen  examination  are  approved  for  this 
market  by  a  selection  committee  composed  of 
men  and  women  both  in  and  out  of  the  picture 
business. 

We  will  deal  only  in  completed  pictures.  We 
will  sell  one  or  more  pictures  at  a  time.  Ex- 
hibitors may  see  any  picture  before  booking  it. 

Bcause  we  believe  it  will  be  more  profitable 
to  exhibitors  and  ourselves  and  in  the  long 
run  to  overseas  producers  of  high-grade  prod- 
uct, we  prefer  handling  a  limited  number  of 
good  pictures  annually  to  dealing  in  a  larger 
number  of  cheaper  but  less  attractive  ones. 

Aside  from  the  commercial,  we  believe  the 
entertainment,  cultural  and  educational  values 
of  fine  imported  pictures  will  prove  a  worthy 
contribution  to  the  screens  of  the  new  world. 
Those  motion  pictures,  wherever  made,  which 
entertainingly  mirror  humanity's  progress  will 
win  their  way  everywhere. 


JOS.  S.  SKIRBOLL 

Sales  Manager 


J.  D.  WILLIAMS 

Executive  Vice  President 


AL  S.  ARONSON 

European  Representative 


^VERY  REQIII S 

SOUND 


it's  News  ! 


Some  Outstanding  News  Events  Recorded 

PRESIDENT  ELECT  HOOVER  arrives  in  San  Pedro, 
Calif.,  to  board  warship  Maryland  for  South  American  trip. 

AIMEE  SEMPLE  McPHERSON  greeted  by  happy  thou- 
sands on  her  return  to  Los  Angeles  from  Europe. 

FRANZ  SHUBERT  Centenary  at  Vienna.  World  tribute 
on  100th  anniversary  of  great  composer's  death. 

YOKOHAMA — Prayers  to  Ossaniyama,  Guardian  God  of 
Yokohama,  chanted  in  old  religious  rite. 


Its  Entertainment 


CHORUS  CUTIES  make  big  whoopee  for  old  sea-salts  at 
old  sailors  home,  St.  George,  Staten  Island. 

DE  WOLF  HOPPER— who  put  "Mudville"  on  the  map  with 
"Casey  at  the  Bat,"  makes  a  back-stage  confession  exposing 
his  career. 

TOM  NOONAN  of  the  "Church  in  Overalls"  in  New  York's 
famous  Chinatown,  demonstrates  how  he  rescues  the  city's 
souls  in  pawn. 

KIDS  JAZZ  BAND  in  Boston  take  up  kindergarden  course 

in  syncopation. 


PATHEJMWNEW 


te  of  a  Great 
News  Reel 

NEWS  is  real  news  when  it's  of  universal 
interest  and  NEW.  ENTERTAINMENT 
has  value  when  it  is  hall-marked  with  Show- 
manship. SOUND  enhances  news  when  it 
achieves  perfection  in  recording  and 
reproduction. 

First  page  news  when  it  is  news— plus  big  time 
entertainment  —  plus  absolute  verity  in  sound 
recording  and  reproduction  .  .  .  THIS  IS  YOUI 
GUARANTEE  when  you  book  THE  WORLD'? 
GREATEST  NEWS  REEL  IN  SOUND!  H 

Its  sound  at  its  best! 

PATHE  SOUND  NEWS  is  the  last  word  in  production  flexibility  —  both  in 
sound  and  scene. 

The  "variable  area"  sound  track  of  RCA  Photophone  System  gives  results  not 
available  to  any  other  system. 

Absolute  elimination  of  ground  noises  and  other  sound  track  disturbances  is 
accomplished  by  recording  on  fine-grained  Dupont  positive  film  stock  in  a  sepa- 
rate simultaneous  operation  while  making  the  picture  negative.  Long  shots  and 
close-ups  can  be  irade  by  Pathe  Sound  News  without  sacrificing  SOUND  or 
PICTORIAL  quality. 


Picture*  j/ 


NOW 
COMBINED 

for  the 
Greater  Glory 
of  your 
Box-Office ! 


1 


THE  GREATEST 
MIRACLE  IN 
1928  YEARS 


Now  add  the  living  voice  of  VITA- 
PHONE — first,  finest,  and  most  fa- 
mous of  all  Sound  accomplishments 
— to  the  supreme  Star,  Story,  and 
Production  values  of  FIRST  NA- 
TIONAL PICTURES  .  .  . 

Never  has  such  a  staggering  sum  of 
Box-Office  Assets  been  placed  before 
the  exhibitors  of  motion  pictures! 
First  National  Players  so  popular  you 
can  fill  your  theatre  on  their  names 
alone  .  .  .  First  National  Stories  so 
stupendous  you'd  grab  them,  Vita- 
phone  or  SILENT  .  .  . 

ADD  TO  THESE  THE  TREMEN- 
DOUS FORCE  OF  VITAPHONE, 
AND  YOU  HAVE  A  BUY 


THAT'S  IRRESISTIBLE! 


Beginning  immediately,  every  new 
First  National  Picture  that  is  put  in 
work  will  be  produced  via  Vitaphone. 
Every  time  you  book  a  First  National 
Picture  you  can  advertise  a  Vita- 
phone  Picture! 

*      *  * 

In  the  minds  of  America's  millions, 
"Sound"  IS  "Vitaphone". 

In  the  hearts  of  America's  millions, 
First  National  Pictures  and  First  Na- 
tional Stars  have  been  rooted  deep 
by  1 1  years  of  glorious  achievement. 

By  their  union  First  National  attains 
the  Pinnacle  of  Box-Office  Power! 


Blow  every  FIRST  NATIONAL  PICTURE 
will  be  a  100%  YlfAPtDNE  PICTURE! 


t 
1 


When  Stars 
like  these 
Speak  Via 
Vitaphone, 
the  Whole 
World  will 
Listen  ! 


Colleen 
Moore 


Corinne 
Griffith 


'  Richard 
Barthelmess 


Billie 
Dove 


*5 


Jack 
Mulhali 


Every 
First  National 
Star  now  a 
Vitaphone 

Star! 


^ 


AMONG 


N.  V 


Tim" 


AUTD  STIIX 
The  PROOF 
PIL.ES  UP! 

New  critics  swell  the 
flood  of  testimony 
that  "THE  BARKER' 
is  a  once -in- a 'blue 
moon  hit! 


"Carthay  Circle  audience  ac- 
claimed 'The  Barker.'  Sets 
new  precedent  for  players 
among  cast.  Fitzmaurice  has 
stepped  into  group  of  few 
who  have  something  really 
good  to  offer." — Louella  Par- 
sons in  L.  A.  Examiner 

"  'The  Barker'  is  the  most  in- 
teresting picture — silent  or 
noisy — on  Broadway." — Karl 
Kitchen  in  N.  Y.  Eve.  World 

"Excellent  picture  and  a  good 
talker.  Will  waltz  home  to  a 
merry  jingle.  Picture  is  well 
supplied  with  'it'." — Sid  in 
Variety 

"'Barker' real  entertainment. 
Marvelous  carnival  atmos- 
phere. Accorded  place  in 
front  rank.  Picture  must  be 
reckoned  unquestionably 
among  outstanding  film 
achievements  of  year." 
Marquis  Busby  in  L.  A.  Times. 

"A  natural.  One  of  note- 
worthy  photoplays  of  year. 
'The  Barker'  should  be  put 
on  your  list  of  pictures  not 
to  be  missed." — Monrot 
Lathrop,  L.  A.  Express. 


'The  Barker'  offers  colorfu 
entertainment.  Unusual  in 
terest.  Has  not  been  surpassec 
by  any  recent  picture."— Har 
rison  Caroll  in  L.  A.  Herald 

"First  National  'Barker' pre 
miere  display  stuns  Wesl 
Coast  boulevardiers.  A  spec 
tacle  that  out-rivaled  any 
thing  the'  motion  pictur< 
capital  had  ever  seen." — En 
Daily  Review. 


The 
Independent 
Film  Trade 
Paper 


EXHIBITORS 

H E  RALD 
WORLD 


Home 
Office: 
407  So.  Dearborn  St. 
Chicago 


IN  THIS  ISSUE 


Film  field  is  now  open  for  all  sound  devices  having  quality;  understanding  for  interchange  is 
reached  by  licensees  of  Western  Electric;  future  of  audiens  depends  upon  maintenance  and  im- 
provement of  standard,  says  Otterson;  cause  of  the  talking  picture  declared  lost  if  producers, 
exhibitors  or  manufacturers  accept  standard  lower  than  now  established. 


COMPLETE  INDEX  TO  CONTENTS 


NEWS 


Campaign  for  decent  name  for  talking  pictures  progresses  far 
beyond  expectations;  names  pour  in  from  all  parts  of  country. 
Woodhull  challenges  Allied  to  give  stand  on  admitting  chains; 
declares  growth  of  MPTO  A  both  "satisfactory  and  safe." 

Prosperity  is  sure  to  continue  into  new  year,  says  Klein — First 
seven  World  Wide  pictures  go  to  exhibitors  this  month. 

Lee  Marcus  is  elected  vice-president  of  FBO;  Rozenzweig  is 
general  sales  manager — F  N  announces  impressive  list  of  all- 
audiens. 


FEATURES 

Service  Talks  by  T.  0.  Service   53 

Los  Angeles  by  Douglas  Hodges   42 

Pictorial  Section   31 

Quick  Reference  Picture  Chart   54 

Letters  from  Readers   58 

Broadway   26 


DEPARTMENTS 

Sound  Pictures   36 

The  Studio   41 

Short  Features   44 

Presentation  Acts   45 

The  Theatre    50 

Classified  Advertising   57 

Chicago  Personalities  by  J.  F   66 


ADVERTISEMENTS 

FILM,  SOUND  AND  EQUIPMENT— Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,  East- 
man Kodak,  Fox,  Paramount,  Dramaphone,  Universal,  Phototone, 
World  Wide  Pictures,  Pathe,  First  National,  Murad,  Movie-Phone 
Corporation,  Irving  Hamlin,  Exhibitors  Record  Service,  Milton 
M.  Stern. 

PRESENTATIONS— Leo  Feist,  Inc.,  Donaldson,  Douglas  and 
Gumble,  Inc.,  Sunshine  Sammy,  Johnny  Payne,  L.  Carlos  Meier, 
New  York  Costume  Company,  Ransley  Brooks  Costumes. 


CHICAGO 

407  South  Dearborn  St.  Telephone  Harrison  0036-37-38 

Ca  bis  Address  :  Quigpubco 
EDWIN  S.  CLIFFORD,  General  Manager 
JAY  M.  SHRECK,  Managing  Editor 
GEORGE  CLIFFORD,  Business  Manager 
ERNEST  A.  ROVELSTAD,  Netes  Editor 
LOS  ANGELBS 

S617  Hollywood  Bird.  Telephone  Gladstone  37S4 

DOUGLAS  HODGES 
West  Coast  Manager 


EDITORIAL 
AND 
ADVERTISING 
OFFICES 


NEW  YORK 

565  Fifth  Avenue  Telephone  VanderbUt  3612-3613 

PETER  VISCHER,  ;Ve»  York  Editor 
JAMES  BEE  CROFT,  .Vew  York  Advertising  Manager 

LONDON 
THE  BIOSCOPE 
(J.  Cabourn,  Editor") 
Faraday  House 
8-10  Charing  Cross  Rd.,  W.  C.  2 


SUBSCRIPTION  RATES :    United  States  and  its  possessions,  Canada  and  all  countries  of  the  Americas — $3.00  per  year;  Great  Britain  and  Its  colonies — £1  per  y« 
utner  foreign  countries  per  year.    Single  copies — 25  cents.   Advertising  rale  cards  and  Audit  Bureau  of  Circulations  statements  famished  npon  eppUeatien. 


I 


J 


20 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS 

H  E  RALD 
WORLD 

Martin  J.  Quigley,  Publisher  &  Editor 

Incorporating  Exhibitors  Herald,  founded  in  1915;  Moving  Pic- 
ture World,  founded  in  1907;  Motography,  founded  in  1909;  and 
The  Film  Index,  founded  in  1909 
Published  Every  Wednesday  by 

Quigley  Publishing  Company 

Publication  Office:  407  So.  Dearborn  St.,  CHICAGO,  U.  S.  A. 
Martin  J.  Quigley,  President 
Edwin  S.  Clifford,  Secretary  George  Clifford,  Asst.  Treasurer 

Member  Audit  Bureau  of  Circulations 
Copyright,  1929,  by  Quigley  Publishing  Company 
All  editorial   and   business  correspondence 
should  be  addressed  to  the   Chicago  office 
Other  publications:     Better  Theatres,  devoted  to  construction,  equipment  and 
operation  of  theatres;  published  every  fourth  week  as  supplement  to  Exhibitors 
Herald- World;  The  Motion  Picture  Almanac,  Pictures  and  Personalities,  pub- 
lished annually;  The  Chicagoan  and  Polo,  Class  publications. 

Whole  Vol.  94,  No.  1     (Vol.  36,  No.  4)     January  5,  1929 


Quality  Test 

THE  exact  status  of  the  question  of  interchangeability 
among  sound  picture  devices,  from  both  a  practicable 
and  a  permissible  standpoint,  is  revealed  in  the  following 
statement  just  issued  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Otterson.  president  of 
Electrical  Research  Products,  Inc.: 

"We  have  just  reached  an  understanding  with  the  pro- 
ducers licensed  by  us  that  they  will  play  their  productions 
on  any  equipment  which  in  their  judgment  gives  results  of 
satisfactory  quality.  If  they  find,  or  we  demonstrate,  that 
the  equipment  is  not  up  to  standard,  then  they  will  cease 
to  serve  such  equipment." 

Here,  then,  is  the  latest  word,  and  it  is  a  word  of  such 
definiteness  that  it  admits  of  no  misunderstanding.  The 
Western  Electric  Company  interests-  are  not  standing  in 
the  way  of  the  freest,  fullest  and  earliest  development  in 
the  use  of  sound  pictures.  The  insistence  upon  quality 
reproduction  is  only  the  insistence  that  the  industry 
unitedly  must  make.  The  present  standards,  and  con- 
stantly bettering  standards,  obviously  must  be  the  common 
objective  of  both  exhibitors  and  producers  if  the  public's 
present  interest  in  sound  pictures  is  to  be  developed  into  a 
substantial  and  lasting  patronage. 

*    *  * 

The  Name  Hunt 

THE  merry  discussion  looking  to  the  christening  of  the 
talking  picture  goes  on.  During  the  past  week  all 
branches  of  the  industry,  together  with  a  large  public  rep- 
resentation, have  busied  themselves  with  thought  and  dis- 
cussion about  an  appropriate  name  for  the  talking  picture. 

There  is  no  scarcity  of  suggestions.  Words  and  combina- 
tions of  words  of  many  kinds  and  descriptions  have  been 
proposed.  Unfortunately,  too  many  of  them  are  severely 
and  forbiddingly  Greek  and  Latin.  These  may  be  sound 
enough  in  their  derivation  but  they  simply  will  never  fit 
into  the  popular  tongue  of  the  day. 

Mr.  Jack  Warner  offers  a  short-cut  to  a  solution  of  the 
problem  with  the  suggestion  that  the  brand  name,  "Vita- 
phone,"  be  the  elected  term.  Similarly,  Mr.  Louis  B. 
Mayer  advocates,  "Movietone."  One  thing  that  may  be 
noted  in  connection  with  both  of  these  suggestions  is  that 
Vitaphone  and  Movietone  are  words  that  already  are  deep 


in  the  language  of  the  theatregoing  public.  The  public  is 
not  using  the  terms  exactly;  in  other  words,  they  are  not 
using  them  in  a  brand-name  sense  but  are  employing  them 
to  refer  generally  to  talking  pictures. 

We  do  not  know  the  precise  origination  of  "Vitaphone."' 
It  was  offered  by  Warner  Brothers  at  the  birth  of  the  syn- 
chronized picture  to  describe  Warner  Brothers'  sound  and 
picture  entertainments.  It  may  have  been  suggested  by 
"Vitagraph,"  the  name  of  the  pioneer  company  absorbed 
sev  eral  years  ago  by  the  Warner  Brothers. 

"Vitaphone"  is  a  fine,  upstanding  term  and  it  could  very 
consistently — if  brand  name  considerations  would  not  pre- 
vent— become  a  creditable  word  for  the  public  and  the 
trade  to  use  in  referring  to  talking  pictures. 

We  understand  that  "Movietone"'  is  the  personal  inven- 
tion of  Mr.  William  Fox.  It  has  been  used  from  the  start 
by  the  Fox  company  in  connection  with  its  synchronized 
and  talking  pictures.  This  word  has  already  gone  far  with 
the  public.  The  combination  of  "tone"'  with  "movie"  re- 
moves much  of  the  objectionableness  of  the  latter  term 
when  used  alone.  The  coined  term,  'Movietone,"'  has  much 
to  recommend  it.  It  rolls  easily  into  the  language  of  the 
day  and.  as  is  the  case  with  "Vitaphone."  it  is  already  in 
wide  use  by  the  public. 

However,  until  the  ballots  are  counted  we  continue  to 
urge  consideration  of  the  term — AT  DIEN. 

"Allied  States'  Head 

THE  election  of  Mr.  Abram  F.  Myers,  now  chairman  of 
the  Federal  Trade  Commission,  as  president  and  gen- 
eral counsel  of  the  Allied  States  Association  of  Motion 
Picture  Exhibitors  is  a  development  that  may  be  regarded 
with  widespread  satisfaction.  While  it  has  not  yet  been 
made  plain  as  to  just  how  soon  Mr.  Myers  may  be  released 
by  the  President  from  his  official  duties  at  Washington,  it 
is  to  be  hoped  that  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  exhibitors 
may  be  taken  up  at  an  early  date  so  that  the  many  imme- 
diate and  pressing  problems  may  have  the  benefit  of  his 
attention. 

The  election  of  Mr.  Myers  is  really  the  outcome  of  sev- 
eral vears*  agitation  among  exhibitors  for  the  selection  of  a 
strong  and  experienced  personality  from  outside  the  in- 
dustry to  head  an  association.  There  is  regret  that  such 
an  arrangement  had  not  been  made  earlier  but  there  is 
gratification  in  the  fact  that  at  least  now  it  has  been  done. 

It  is  not  yet  timely  to  comment  generally  on  the  plans  of 
the  Allied  States  Association  under  the  leadership  of  Mr. 
Myers  because  thus  far  an  official  statement  referring  in 
any  detail  to  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  new  arrange- 
ment has  not  been  issued.  But  it  is  timely  to  congratulate 
Mr.  Myers  and  the  association  jointly  on  the  new  arrange- 
ment. 

Exhibitors  certainly  are  entitled  to,  and  certainly  need, 
the  benefits  of  a  strong  and  active  association.  And  such 
an  association  requires  the  full  time  and  attention  of  a 
chief  executive  who  is  expert  and  experienced  with  respect 
to  the  problems  and  necessities  involved. 

Mr.  Myers  made  an  excellent  impression  upon  the  motion 
picture  industry  generally  during  the  time  of  conducting  a 
trade  practice  conference.  This  will  be  an  advantage  to 
him  in  setting  out  on  his  new  duties.  Also,  he  has  behind 
him  a  creditable  and  convincing  record  generally  and  is 
plainly  qualified  to  play  an  important  part  in  entrenching 
and  rendering  more  secui-e  the  business  of  exhibiting  mo- 
tion pictures. 

The  best  wishes  of  the  Herald-World  are  extended  to 
Mr.  Myers  and  to  the  Allied  States  Association. 

—MARTIN  J.  QUIGLEY. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS    HERALD  - WORLD 


21 


Audien  Drive  Is  Creating 
Wide  Public  Interest  in 
Talking  Motion  Pictures 


An 

Entire 
Industry 
Must 
Decide 


—The 

EXHIBITOR 

—The 

PRODUCER 

—The 

DISTRIBUTOR 

—The 

STAR 

—The 

DIRECTOR 

—The 

SCENARIST 

—The 

ADVERTISING  MAN 

—The 

PUBLICIST 

—The 

PROJECTIONIST 

—The 

CAMERAMAN 

—The 

TECHNICIAN 

ALL  must  join  in  selecting  a  name 
which  reflects  properly  and  ap- 
propriately the  dignity  and  im- 
portance of  the  Talking  Picture. 


The  campaign  seeking  a  decent  name  for  motion  pictures  that  have  found  their 
voice,  to  supplant  such  unhappy  designations  as  "talkies,"  "speakies."  "soundies," 
and  some  even  more  undignified,  has  progressed  far  beyond  expectations. 

Not  that  the  rose  has  found  its  name!  True,  there  are  some  who  like  audien, 
suggested  by  the  Herald- World,  but  there  are  others  who  believe  it  too  obviously 
manufactured,  not  to  say  highbrow.  There  are  others  who  like  cinelog.  the  sug- 
gestion of  a  Greek  purist  at  Columbia  university.  There  are  others  who  like 
dramaphone.  pictovox.  audifilm,  just  as  there  are  some  who  root  for  'talkies"'  and 
"speakies!" 

And  there  are  more  names  pouring  in  all  tbe  time,  from  many  sections  of  the 
countrv. 

*     *  * 

Even  though  no  name  has  icon  universal  approval  as  yet,  the  campaign  has 
had  extraordinary  success  in  interesting  the  public  in  the  new  pictures  com- 
bining screen  and  sound.    The  leading  critics  of  the  country  have  taken  up 
the  cry  and  the  HERALD-lTORLD's  campaign  has  been  commented  upon  by 
Quinn  Martin  in  the  New  1  ork  World.  F.  Mordaunt  Hall  in  the  New  York 
limes.  Robert  Sherwood  in  the  New  York  Evening  Post.  Ashton  Stevens  in 
the  Chicago  Herald  and  Examiner,  and  others  too  numerous  to  mention. 
This  enlisting  of  the  public  interest,  through  the  important  press,  has  pro- 
vided exhibitors  through  the  country  with  an  entirely  new  and  refreshing  exploi- 
tation angle.     Thus  it  may  be  said  with  truth  that  the  campaign  has  been 
eminently  successful,  whether  it  ever  succeeds  in  erasing  "talkies"  from  the 
slanguage  of  the  day  or  not. 

Several  new  and  highly  promising  suggestions  have  come  forward. 

Milton  Silver,  advertising  manager  of  I  niversal.  icho  knows  the  public 
mind,  comes  forth  with  the  suggestion  .  .  .  Photovoice.  As  a  standardized 
term  to  describe  talking  pictures,  photovoice  has  the  virtues  of  simplicity, 
ease,  familiarity.    Try  it  .  .  .  Photovoice. 

A  whole  series  of  promising  suggestions  comes  from  Richard  L.  Moss,  assistant 
manager  with  the  Loew  organization.  He  makes  one  highlv  promising  sugges- 
tion .  .  .  Phonoplay.  This  is  close  to  a  term  already  in  good  repute,  photoplay. 
Obviously,  if  a  photoplay  is  a  play  presented  on  the  screen  in  motion  pictures, 
then  phonoplay  is  a  play  presented  in  sound,  with  every  suggestion  of  the 
motion  picture. 

Quinn  Martin,  particularly  good-natured  on  the  eve  of  a  six  weeks'  vaca- 
tion in  Europe,  beginning  in  Rerlin  and  the  I  fa  studios,  is  u  illing  to  try 
audien.  This,  from  a  critic,  is  quite  a  concession,  though  Martin  will  prob- 
ably come  back  uith  something  faintly  resembling  Sprachkino.  or  Schicetz- 
bilder.    (Where's  that  German  type  anyway?) 


^^llclt     JVflniC     Do     YOU        ^OD  Sherwood,  whose  position  anywhere  would  naturally  be  one  of  eminence. 

suggests  in  the  New  1  ork  Evening  Post  and  35  other  newspapers  through  the 
SUGGEST?  country  that  the  Herald-World's  campaign  would  add  considerable  class  to  the 

language.    "I  have  lately  seen  several  delightful  audiens."  Sherwood  imagines 

  himself  saying,  "audiens  including  'Sal  of  Singapore."  'Noisy  Neighbors,'  and 

'State  Street  Sadie.'  " 

Joseph  I.  Schnitzer.  president  of  F  B  0  Productions,  finds  a  similar  difficulty 

NAME   with  audien.    He  considers  this  classy  little  designation  a  bit  too  highbrow. 

"The  motion  picture  fan  does  not  icant  a  icord  u  ith  which  he  is  not  famil- 

ADDRESS   iar,  and  above  all.  he  does  not  want  a  name  for  anything  thrust  down  his 

throat,"  said  Mr.  Schnitzer.  "any  more  than  he  wants  a  star  forced  on  him. 

CITY  and  STATE   The  fans  want  to  coin  their  own  names  for  their  entertainment  and  make 

their  own  stars.    Although  'talkie'  is  cheap  and  slangy.  I  am  afraid  it  is  here 
[Fill  in  coupon  and  mail  to  EXHIBITORS  10  s'av>  much  like  'movie.'    Personally.  I  don't  like  it.  but  I  dont  think  there 

HERALD-WORLD,  407  South  Dearborn  St.,  is  anything  we  can  do  about  it." 

Chicago,  III.']  The  returns  are  not  yet  all  in.    And  just  as  Herbert  Hoover  managed  to  break 

the  Solid  South  so  may  audien  or  cinelog  or  photovoice  or  phonoplay  succeed  in 
.    breaking  the  Solid  Talkie.    Ballots  always  welcome. 


22 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


What  Is  Your  Suggestion? 

Should  the  talking  picture  be  called  a  "talkie,"  a  "speakie,"  a 
"squawkie,"  or  some  more  dignified  name?    Your  opinion,  please! 


PHOTOVOICE 
— Milton  Silver 

Advertising  manager 
Universal  Pictures 

— L.  P.  Gorman 
Portland 

Me. 


AUDI  EN 

— Second  by 
Quinn  Martin 
New  York  World 

— Clell  Jay 

Eureka  Springs 
Ark. 


AUDIO-PL  AY 

PHONO-PLAY 

AUDIO  PICTURES 

AUDOMOTO 

AU  DIVISION 

PHONO-ART 

AUDI  FILM 

SONOFILM 

PICTOPHONE 
— Richard  L.  Moss 
Assistant  Manager 
Loew  Organization 


VIEWTONE 

VUTONE 

VUCON 

KODOR 

KOVOX 

VOCAM 

MOVIX 

— Edward  L.  Klein 

Edward  L.  Klein 

Corp. 


TALKIE 

— Eugene  Arnstein 
Mihvaukee  Theatre 
Circuit 
Milwaukee 

■ — Stanley  Gross 
Downer  theatre 
Milwaukee 

— Rheinhold  Wallach 
Lake  theatre 
Milwaukee 

*  *  * 

PICTALK 

PICTORAL 

VITAVOX 

— John  T.  Jackson 

Coldwater 

Mich. 

*  *  * 

PHONO-PHOTOS 
FONOFOTOS 

— M.  B.  Hornbeck 

Logansport 

Ind. 

*  *  * 

AUDIES 

—P.  A.  Wills 
Champaign 
111 


KENTONE 
VIST  ATONE 
— Easton  West 
Ocean  Park 
Cal. 

*    *  * 

DRAM  AT  ONE 
—Frank  C.  Ely 
Morristown 
N.  J. 


HUMANITONE 
—F.  K.  Haskell 
Portland 
Ore. 

*  *  * 

VOCAPHOTOS 
—W.  S.  G.  Heath 
Edgefield 

s.  c. 

*  *  * 

SYMPHONY  PICTURES 
— Joe  Anderson 
Hatton 
N.  D. 

*  *  * 

AUDIOGRAPH 

— William  W.  Lewis 
J.  E.  McAuley  Mfg. 
Co. 

Chicago 

— J.  A.  Davis 
New  Haven 
Conn. 

*  *  * 

CINOPHONE 
KINOPHONE 

— Jean  Kounstance 

Milton 

Chicago 

*  *  * 

AUDIFILM 
VOCAFILM 
— E.  F.  Nutter 

Rowlesburg 

W.  Va. 

*  *  * 

TELASHOW 

— Harold  Kelner 
New  York  City 


FOTOX 

— Stan  Kennedy 
Selkirk 
Man.,  Canada 


REELTROLO 
REESOUNDO 

—Mrs.  J.  D.  Swabb 

Oxford 

Kan. 


PHOTOPHONIC 
— F.  P.  Hollywood 
Portland 
Me. 


January  5,  1929 


LXHIBITORS    H  FRALL -WORLD 


23 


The  Public  and  Industry  Speak 

Comments  on  and  suggestions  offered  in  the  Herald-World's  campaign  to  find 
a  suitable  name  for  talking  pictures  are  coming  from  many  sources — the  public, 
dramatic  critics,  producers,  exhibitors,  publicists,  directors  and  all  others  asso- 
ciated uith  the  industry. 


While  I  am  naturally  flattered  by  your  letter 
of  December  7,  requesting  me  to  assist  you  in 
finding  a  name  for  the  moving  picture  accom- 
panied by  dialogue,  I  must  respectfully  decline 
to  put  my  head  on  the  matter.  I  do  not  feel 
cordial  toward  the  talking  and  moving  picture. 
The  results  up  to  the  present  time  seem  to 
me  peculiarly  distressing,  and  while  mechanical 
perfection  will  naturally  improve  the  situation 
somewhat.  I  feel  that  in  transferring  interest 
from  the  development  of  new  technique  for 
the  silent  drama,  the  artistic  development  of 
that  true  moving  picture  has  been  greatly  re- 
tarded— at  present  it  seems  to  be  checked  alto- 
gether. 

Nor  do  I  see  what  will  be  gained  when  or 
if  plays  could  be  perfectly  produced  as  talk- 
ing and  moving  pictures.  The  personal  con- 
nection between  artists  and  audience  will  be 
lost,  and  the  black  and  whites  are  less  interest- 
ing than  the  colored,  living  persons.  The  me- 
chanical reproduction  of  play?  in  great  number 
will  lessen  the  effort,  which  is  at  present  so 
wholesole,  to  have  theatres  in  every  town. 

I  do  not  feel  like  having  anything  to  do  with 
what  I  regard  as  a  retrograde  movement  in 
movinz  pictures. 

—AMY  L.  REED. 
Vassar  College.  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 

*  *  * 

What  do  you  think  of  the  coined  word 
"Photovoice"  as  a  standardized  term  to 
describe  talking  pictures? 

—MILTON  SILVER. 
Advertisng  Manager,  Universal  Pictures 
Corporation. 

*  *  * 

Having  an  affiliation  with  the  industry  in  the 
capacity  of  assistant  manager  with  the  Loew 
organization.  I  am  naturally  interested  in  your 
drive  to  find  a  new  name  for  the  sound  pic- 
ture. 

It  seems  to  me  that  most  of  the  selectors  are 
on  the  wrong  track  in  trying  to  select  a  name 
that  infers  "the  voice."  It  is  not  a  readily 
established  fact  that  talking  pictures  will  be 
entirely  successful;  however,  it  is  practically 
certain  that  the  synchronized  score  capably 
fills  the  place  of  the  orchestra  and  that  added 
sound  effects  are  very  helpful  in  heightening 
the  screen  situations.  In  selecting  a  name  I 
believe  we  should  hold  in  mind  the  fact  that 
this  new  phase  of  the  motion  picture  is  for  ear 
as  well  as  for  eye,  and  that  not  all  sound  pic- 
tures are  talking  pictures. 

With  this  in  mind.  I  have  made  the  follow- 
ing selections: 

Audio-Play — this  very  plainly  infers  that  it 
is  a  plot  that  can  be  heard  as  well  as  seen. — 
Phono-Play,  Audio  Pictures,  Audomoto,  Oudi- 
vison,  Phono-Art.  Audifilm,  Sonofilm  and  Picto- 
phone. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  best  of  this  selec- 
tion is  Audio  Pictures,  "Motion  pictures  that 
can  be  heard  as  well  as  seen."  The  selection 
"Audien,"  that  I  saw  in  your  magaizne,  is  very 
good,  but  it  appears  too  much  like  a  trade 
name.  Audio  is  easily  understood  by  all;  it 
rolls  off  the  tongue  easily;  and  you  can  readily 
imagine  one  friend  say  to  another,  "If  it's  an 
Audio  picture.  1*11  go." 

—RICHARD  L.  MOSS, 

Loew  Organization. 

*  *  * 

EUGENE  ARNSTEIN,  Milwaukee 
Theatre  Circuit:  "Talkie  is  the  right 
title  for  dialogue  movies.  The  public  is 
used  to  it.  and  it  gets  the  idea  across." 

*  *  * 

STANLEY  GROSS.  Downer  theatre. 
Milwaukee :  "The  average  person  doesn't 


The  HER,4LD-ff  ORLDS  campaign 
elicited  the  interested  aid  and  assistance 
of  Robert  Shericood.  commentor  on  mo- 
lion  pictures  in  the  New  1  ork  Evening 
Post  and  many  other  papers  through  the 
Bell  Syndicate. 

By  ROBERT  SHERWOOD 

Developments  in  the  perforated  cellu- 
loid industry  in  1929  will  be  extremely 
interesting  to  watch,  for  the  next  twelve 
months  will  tell  us  whither  the  talkies 
are  heading  and  whether  they  have  any 
chance  of  getting  there. 

It  may  be  my  duty,  next  December, 
to  record  the  fact  that  the  Noise  Era  on 
the  screen  is  passing  and  that  the  re- 
action against  the  squawking  heroines 
and  limping  heroes  has  set  in. 

I  doubt,  however,  that  such  will  be 
the  case.  I  believe  that  the  squawks 
and  the  lisp?  will  be  cured  and  that 
the  characters"  voices  will  be  made  to 
come  from  their  mouths  instead  of  from 
their  hip  pockets.  I  even  go  so  far  as  to 
believe  that  not  only  will  movies  con- 
tinue to  talk;  they  will  actually  have 
something  excitina  to  sav. 

The  editors  of  the  EXHIBITORS 
HERALD  and  MOVING  PICTURE 
WORLD  are  still  campaigning  for  a  word 
that  can  be  applied  impartially  to  all  the 
talking  picture  devices.  It  is  felt  that 
"talkie"  is  insufficiently  dignified  as  a 
label  for  an  important  scientific  inven- 
tion. Of  all  those  that  have  been  sug- 
gested, they  considered  that  "audien"  is 
the  best,  and  it  is  probable  that  this 
classv  word  will  be  officiallv  accepted  bv 
the  HERALD-WORLD  on  behalf  of  the 
film  industry. 

Whether  it  will  be  accepted  and  used 
by  the  public  is  another  matter.  I  re- 
member that  once  a  prominent  movie  fan 
magazine  gave  forth  instructions  to  all 
its  contributors  that  the  words  "movie" 
and  "fan"  were  never  again  to  appear  in 
its  pages.  According  to  the  editor  of 
this  publication,  "movie"  was  a  vulgar 
and  rather  insolent  nickname  for  a  great 
art;  and  "fan"  was  but  an  abbreviation 
of  "fanatic." 

In  spite  of  this  edict,  the  terms  have 
persisted,  possibly  because  neither  the 
movies  nor  the  fans  have  ever  deserved 
more  respectful  sobriquets.  Nor  is  it 
likely  that  the  talkies  will  fare  much 
better. 

For  instance,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine 
anyone  saying,  "I  have  lately  seen  sev- 
eral delightful  audiens,  including  "Sal  of 
Singapore,'  'Noisy  Neighbors'  and  "State 
Street  Sadie.' " 


know  what  Audien  means.  Talkie  is 
o.  k.  When  you  say  'with  sound.'  people 
know  that  its  only  sound  effects;  when 
you  say  'talkie'  they  know  it  is  with 
dialogue." 

*    *  * 

You  certainly  are  to  be  congratulated  on  your 
movement  to  find  an  appropriate  name  for 
sound  and  talking  pictures  and  I,  for  one,  wish 
you  every  success  in  this  endeavor. 

At  the  inception  of  motion  pictures,  the  pub- 
lic, accustomed  to  expressii  %  itself  in  mono- 
-yllables,  and  at  the  most  in  Juo-syllables,  gave 
thi-  then  new  form  of  ente.tainment  the  un- 


dignified name  of  "movies"  and  unfortunately 
the  motion  picture  industry,  or  a  portion  there- 
of, took  up  that  work  and  publicized  it  so  much 
that  it  has  become  practically  impossible  to 
change  it  to  something  more  worthy  of  the  art. 

Even  today  with  the  advent  of  sound  we 
have  producers  themselves  using  such  words; 
as  "movietalks,"  "movietone,"  etc.,  and  adver- 
tising and  publicizing  the  word  "talkies"  while 
some  of  our  principal  first  run  houses  have 
adopted  the  slogan  "The  Home  of  the  Talkies." 

When  this  is  done  within  the  industry,  and 
when  motion  picture  publications  refer  to 
the  new  audible  productions  as  "soundies," 
"squeakies."  "speakies,"  "speakeasies,"  etc.,  etc., 
it  is  apparently  going  to  be  very  difficult  to 
educate  the  public  in  the  use  of  a  dignified 
noun,  be  it  a  coined  word  or  a  combination 
of  technical  or  non-technical  terms. 

The  tendency  of  the  public  to  short-cut  in 
everything  has  been  evidenced  by  firsdy  the 
telephone,  which  is  simplified  to  ""phone."  the 
automobile  which  was  first  "auto,"  but  being 
of  two  syllables  eventually  became  "car,"  and 
the  telegram  which  is  now  "wire." 

Therefore,  in  my  humble  opinion,  any  word 
adopted  for  the  new  art  of  talking  motion  pic- 
tures should  not  contain  more  than  two  syl- 
lables. 

Mr.  George  Eastman  undoubtedly  had  this 
tendency  on  the  part  of  the  public  to  abbreviate 
everything  in  mind  when  h«  adopted  a  two 
syllable  coined  word  which  today  is  almost 
synonymous  with  the  word  camera:  namely 
"kodak" 

Likewise  "Lux,"  a  one  syllable  word,  is  today 
almost  synonymous  for  powdered  soap,  and 
being  a  one  syllable  word  is  easily  pronounced 
and  easy  to  remember. 

To  choose  a  one  or  two  syllable  word  which 
in  itself  will  describe  talking-sound  pictures  is 
going  to  be  a  difficult  proposition.  In  your  list 
of  suggested  names  in  the  December  22  edition 
of  the  EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD  only- 
two  are  words  of  less  than  three  syllables, 
namely  "talkies"  and  "phonies,"  and  God  de- 
liver us  from  the  adoption  of  either  of  these. 

The  talking  motion  picture  in  Germany  is 
known  in  the  trade  as  "tonfilm."  Translated 
into  English  it  is  naturally  "tone-film."  hence 
a  two  syllable  work  "tonefilm"  would  give  an 
expressive  as  well  as  descriptive  name  easy  to 
remember  and  easy  to  pronounce,  yet  here,  too, 
I  would  have  to  criticize  my  own  suggestion 
because  the  word  "film"  is  used.  After  all,  the 
film  is  only  the  basis  on  which  the  art  of  mo- 
tion pictures  is  perpetuated  and  the  motion 
picture  industry  is  not  any  longer  a  film  busi- 
ness, but  a  business  involving  the  arts  and 
sciences  in  a  universal  form  of  entertainment. 

In  groping  about  for  a  name  or  two  to  offer 
to  you  I  have  taken  the  words  "view"  and 
"tone"  and  suggest  combining  the  same  to  either 
"viewtone"  or  "vutone." 

I  also  wish  to  offer  the  following  "vucon" 
i  combination  of  the  words  "view"  and  "con- 
versation"); "kodor"  I  combination  of  the  words 
"kodak"  and  "oral"*;  "kovox"  l  combination  of 
the  words  "kodak"  and  "vox"  meaning  voice); 
"vocam"  l  combination  of  "vocal"  and  "cam- 
era" l ;  "movox"  (combination  of  the  words 
"moving"  and  "vox"). 

Personally  I  would  prefer  "vutone"  as  being 
descriptive,  euphonious,  easy  to  remember  and 
easy  to  pronounce,  and  if  "vutone"  is  acceptable 
to  you  and  to  the  industry,  you  can  forward 
the  gold  medal,  blue  ribbon  or  "what  have  you" 
to  suit  your  convenience. 

—EDWARD  L.  KLEIN', 
Eduard  L.  Klein  Corporation,  New  York  City. 


24  EXHIBITORS    H  IrRALD-WORLD  January  5,  1929 


Woodhull  Challenges  Allied  to 
Give  Stand  on  Admitting  Chains 

Declares  Progress  of  M  P  T  0  A  Has  Been  "Satisfactory  and  Safe" 
in  1928 — Calls  Enemy  from  Without  Greatest  Danger 
to  Exhibitors — Urges  United  Front 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2. — In  an  extended  interview,  issued  on  the  threshold  of 
the  New  Year,  R.  F.  Woodhull  issued  a  greeting  to  the  members  of  the 
M  P  T  O  A,  of  which  he  is  president. 

Woodhull  commended  the  record  of  his  organization  and  commented  rather 
caustically  on  tl/e  efforts  of  certain  theatre  owners  to  start  a  rival  body,  now 
accomplished  under  the  leadership  of  Abram  F.  Myers  with  the  Allied  States 
Association  of  Motion   Picture  Exhibitors. 


$20,000  for  Families 
Hit  by  Laurier  Disaster 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

MONTREAL,  Jan.  2.— The  aggre- 
gate sum  of  $20,000  has  been  offered 
by  the  city  of  Montreal,  without  preju- 
dice, to  the  families  who  lost  children 
in  the  Laurier  Palace  theatre  disaster 
here  two  years  ago.  The  number  of 
children  who  died  in  the  fire  and 
panic  was  78,  while  the  number  of 
families  affected  was  66.  The  fund 
was  divided  pro  rata.  The  fund 
means  compensation  of  about  $300  to 
each  family,  and  $255  for  each  life. 


"Progress  for  the  last  year  has  been  sat- 
isfactory and  safe,"  he  declared. 

"Notwithstanding  differences  of  opinions, 
sparring  for  political  position,  enemies  from 
^.without  and  within,  insincere,  selfish  and 
thoughless  activities,  all  common  to  every 
growing  institution,  its  record  of  accom- 
plishments is  comparable  to  that  of  any 
similar  endeavor." 

He  reviewed  the  decision  at  Columbus 
in  1927  to  admit  distributor-owned  theatres 
and  added: 

"The  new  structure  started  at  Columbus 
is  completed  and  is  a  splendid  institution. 
It  has  accomplished  much  in  protection  for 
the  theatre  owners.  In  legislation,  in  solv- 
ing hundreds  of  contractual  difficulties,  in 
the  development  of  nationwide  public  good- 
will, in  the  cooperation  with  governmental 
officials  and  many  other  constructive  ways, 
the  wisdom  of  adopting  the  new  order  of 
things  has  been  definitely  established.  This 
organization  now  numbers  within  its  mem- 
bership over  7,000  theatres.  Its  direct  point 
of  contact  with  state  associations  and  in- 
dividual members,  together  with  a  contact 
man  in  each  film  zone,  provides  efficiency 
and  quickness  of  action  where  speed  is  an 
essential." 

Puts  Question  to  Allied 

Then  he  turned  to  the  matter  of  the 
revival  of  Allied  States: 

"Peering  into  the  future,  we  find  a  few 
theatre  owners  endeavoring  to  start  another 
organization.  Differences  of  opinion  will 
always  be  with  us.  This  started  with  Adam 
and  Eve  and  will  be  present  on  Judgment 
Day.  It  is,  however,  to  be  hoped  that  our 
gretest  foe,  the  enemy  without,  will  be 
met  with  an  undivided  front.     If  not,  the 


industry  will  suffer  and  the  individual  will 
find  that  block-booking,  contract  clauses 
and  some  of  the  other  timeworn  ballyhoos 
are  mere  details  to  his  success.  Legislators, 
badly-advised  or  selfishly  inclined,  reform- 
ers, sincere  and  otherwise,  have  given  us 
several  close  calls  at  Washington  and  State 
Capitols  through  the  folly  of  divided  ranks 
in  the  past.  I  hope  this  danger  will  not 
be  increased  by  this  new  movement.  This 
is  one  of  the  many  and  dangerous  reasons 
why  the  constructive  minds  of  our  industry 
deplore  the  idea  of  two  organizations. 

"I  want  to  ask  those  interested  in 
this  new  movement  one  direct  ques- 
tion. Will  it  be  the  policy  of  their 
Allied  States  Exhibitors  Association 
to  bar  all  affiliated  and  chain  theatre 
owners  from  membership  and  to 
counsel  all  state  organizations  as  may 
join  with  them,  to  also  bar  from 
membership  the  chain  and  affiliated 
theatres? 

"If  the  latter  is  so  we  can  simply  sit  back 
with  sympathy  for  those  who  have  been 
led  to  contribute  and  watch  the  new  organi- 
zation die  of  its  own  futility.  There  are 
more  independent  theatre  owners  in  the 
MPTOA  than  there  are  ever  likely  to  be 
drawn  under  the  new  banner.  This  is  not 
a  test  for  supremacy  as  a  'czar'  of  inde- 
pendent theatre  owners  between  Mr.  Myers 
and  myself.  I  have  never  been  able  to 
visualize  myself  as  a  czar;  neither  can  I 
see  Mr.  Myers  on  any  such  throne.  I  won- 
der also  if  Mr.  Myers  still  believes  in  rubles 
and  how  many  it  would  take  to  pay  the 
rumored  $100,000  annual  salary. 

"I  am  afraid  the  travelling  troupe 
will  be  dependent  for  continued  sup- 
port on  keeping  in  the  limelight, 
ignoring  the  proven  fact  that  the 
problems  of  this  industry  can  be  set- 
tled within  the  industry  through 
peaceful  negotiations. 

"Let  us  go  into  the  New  Year  firm  in 
the  conviction  that  we  as  individuals  pro- 
gress only  as  the  industry  thrives.  Let  us 
spread  the  gospel  to  the  unbelievers.  Let 
us  rededicate  ourselves  to  every  activity 
that  will  reflect  credit  to  our  business  and 
watch  with  unceasing  vigilance  and  strongly 
entrenched  forces,  the  slightest  movement 
that  will  bring  reproach  upon  it. 

"With  these  few  thoughts  and  the  reali- 
zation of  the  responsibility  that  is  mine  as 
the  representative  of  our  large  membership, 
I  extend  greetings  and  the  sincere  hope  that 
the  year  of  1929  will  be  abundantly  filled 
with  health,  prosperity  and  their  attendant 
contentment  for  all  in  the  motion  picture 
industry." 


Salesman  Scares  Bandits 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
KANSAS  CITY,  Jan.  2.— When  two  ban- 
dits attempted  to  take  R.  R.  Thompson,  city 
salesman  for  Pat  le  exchange,  for  a  ride,  he 
confused  them  s  >  that  they  could  not  start 
their  car.    They  fled. 


Problems  of  Sound  Are 
Spur  to  Greater  Efforts 
In  1929,  Declares  Mayer 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  2  — "The  year  1928, 
which  has  brought  to  the  screen  industry 
some  of  the  greatest  and  most  sensational 
developments  in  its  entire  history,  has  also 
left  a  heritage  for  1929,  in  the  shape  of 
many  important  problems  that  the  united 
brains  of  this  great  industry  must  grapple 
with,"  declared  Louis  M.  Mayer,  vice-presi- 
dent, in  charge  of  production  of  Metro- 
Goldwyn-Mayer,  in  a  New  Years  statement 
issued  at  the  studio. 

"The  past  year  has  seen  what  is  almost 
a  revolution  in  the  art  of  the  screen,"  he 
continued.  "Stars  once  silent  now  must 
talk;  pictures  that  once  appealed  to  the  in- 
telligence through  a  single  sense  now  reach 
human  consciousness  through  two  instead. 

"A  new  and  separate  art  is  being  formed. 

"Will  it  change  the  entire  structure  of 
screen  drama?  Some  believe  it  will,  others 
believe  not.  Some  say  it  is  a  passing 
novelty,  and  others  that  it  will  supplant 
even  the  speaking  stage.    Who  knows? 

"But  I  am  sure  that  the  spirit  in  which 
the  whole  industry  is  approaching  these 
problems  means  that  they  will  only  spur 
us  on  to  greater  achievement,  and  a  higher 
development  of  the  great  art  to  which  all 
our  efforts  are  dedicated." 

Warner  Brothers  to  Change 
Subtitle  in  "Singing  Fool" 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

ST.  LOUIS,  Jan.  2.— In  answer  to  a  pro- 
test made  by  several  St.  Louis  chapters  of 
the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy 
and  auxiliary  organizations  that  a  subtitle 
in  "The  Singing  Fool"  reflected  on  the 
honor  and  glory  of  Robert  E.  Lee,  and 
held  the  valiant  Southern  leader  up  to 
ridicule,  Warner  Brothers  in  a  statement 
agreed  to  discontinue  this  title  and  substi- 
tute a  similar  one.  The  title  that  caused 
the  kick  read,  "Al  Jolson  has  done  more 
for  Dixie  than  Robert  E.  Lee."  The  new 
title  is  to  the  effect  that  Jolson  has  done 
more  for  Dixie  than  any  other  minstrel. 

Don  Eddy  Named  Publicity 
Director  for  F  B  O  Studios 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2.— Don  Eddy,  former 
reporter  on  the  Los  Angeles  Times  was  ap- 
pointed Director  of  the  FBO  Studios  in 
Hollywood.  Eddy  is  a  veteran  in  the  mo- 
tion picture  business. 

Fire  Destroys  Derrick 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
VIRGIL,  KAN.,  Jan.  2.— The  Derrick 
theatre  was  destroyed  in  a  $30,000  fire, 
several  business  houses  also  being  burned. 
Fire  departments  from  surrounding  villages 
were  called. 


He's  Santa  Claus  50 
Times  in  One  Year 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

ST.  LOUIS,  Jan.  2. — State  Sena- 
tor Joseph  Mogler,  owner  of  the 
Mogler,  Bremen  and  Excello  theatres 
in  North  St.  Louis  and  president  of 
the  St.  Louis  Motion  Picture  Exhibi- 
tors' League,  acted  as  Santa  Claus 
for  1,700  children  living  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  his  theatres,  by  passing  out 
about  $600  in  new  quarters  in  front 
of  the  Bremen  bank.  It  was  the  50th 
time  since  last  January  7  that  Mogler 
had  given  new  coins  to  children  who 
assembled  at  the  bank.  It  all  started 
as  more  or  less  of  a  joke  last  Janu- 
ary 7,  when  a  youngster  asked  him 
for  a  nickel.  The  following  Saturday 
a  dozen  kids  were  on  hand,  and  once 
more  Mogler  passed  out  coins.  And 
every  Saturday  since  that  the  crowds 
grew  steadily,  until  the  peak  was 
reached  on  December  22.  During  the 
50  weeks  Mogler  gave  away  $2,823. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


25 


Film  Field  Is  Now  Open  for  All 
Sound  Devices  Having  Quality 

Understanding  for  Interchange 
Reached  by  Licensees  of  W.  E. 


Franklin  Raps  Foes 
In  Legal  Fight  Over 
Northwest  Theatre^ 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

PORTLAND,  ORE.,  Jan.  2.— Harold  B. 
Franklin,  president  of  Pacific  Northwest 
Theatres  and  West  Coast  Theatres,  answer- 
ing the  recent  statements  of  J.  C.  Allen,  at- 
torney for  Jensen  &  von  Herberg  interests 
in  Seattle,  regarding  pending  and  threatened 
litigation  claimed  to  affect  Pacific  North- 
west Theatres,  West  Coast  Theatres  and 
other  corporations,  said: 

"This  is  a  picayunish  attempt  upon  the 
part  of  Jensen  &  von  Herberg  interests 
to  force  a  settlement  of  an  action  now 
pending  against  the  Liberty  Theatre  Com- 
pany for  rent,  based  upon  a  lease  of  the 
Liberty  Theatre  in  Seattle. 

"It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Liberty 
Theatre  Company  was  organized  by  the 
Jensen  &  von  Herberg  interests.  They 
find  themselves  in  the  position  of  being 
limited  to  redress  under  a  lease  of  the 
theatre  to  a  corporation  which  they  them- 
selves organized  and  controlled.  It  is  this 
company  that  they  are  suing  and  because 
the  company  never  was  furnished  with  suf- 
ficient assets,  they  are  endeavoring  to  bring 
into  litigation  Pacific  Northwest  Theatres 
and  other  companies  under  the  claim  that 
that  company  or  some  other  company  un- 
der some  alleged  arrangement  assumes  the 
obligation  of  the  lease. 

"The  fact  is  that  no  company  ever  as- 
sumed any  obligation  of  the  Liberty  Thea- 
tre Company.  They  themselves  organized 
the  Liberty  Theatre  Company.  The  Pacific 
Northwest  Theatres  does  not  own  any  of 
the  stock  of  the  Liberty  Theatre  Company." 


Is  the  "Flu"  Affecting 


Attendance? 
Suggests 


Joe  Weil 
a  Solution 


(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2— Joe  Weil,  director 
of  advertising  and  exploitation  of  the  Uni- 
versal Theatrical  Enterprises,  Inc.,  gives 
the  following  methods  to  keep  away  the 
"flu."  \ 

"Pay  more  attention  to  airing  the  theaure 
thoroughly  daily.  Instead  of  using  dr\r 
mops  or  rags,  dampen  them  a  little  so  thalv\ 
only  a  minimum  of  dust  is  raised  in  the^ 
cleaning  operation.  Do  not  run  'Flu'  slides 
on  your  screen.  Get  wise  to  the  fact  that 
certain  fruit  dealers  and  drug  syndicates 
are  taking  advantage  of  a  slight  spread  to 
scare  the  people  into  buying  their  wares. 
Get  rid  of  all  musty  smells  in  the  theatre 
by  using  a  disinfectant." 


Theatre  Operates  Sunday 
Under  "Contribution"  Plan 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HORTON,  KAN.,  Jan.  2.— The  Liberty 
theatre  is  so  far  operating  successfully  un- 
der the  "contribution"  plan.  Although  the 
contributions  do  not  equal  the  week-day 
receipts  the  house  has  been  filled  each  Sun- 
day. The  patron  as  he  leaves  the  theatre 
leaves  his  contribution  in  a  box.  No  viola- 
tion of  the  law  was  found  to  be  connected 
with  this  method. 


Future  of  Audiens  Depends  Upon  Maintenance 
Improvement  of  Standard,  Says  Otterson 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
^NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2. — An  understanding  has  been  reached  between  Electrical 
Research  Products,  Inc.,  and  its  licensed  producers  whereby  they  will  play  their 
pictures  on  any  equipment  "which  in  their  judgment  gives  results  of  satisfactory 
quality,"  John  E.  Otterson,  president  of  Electrical  Research,  declares  in  a  state- 
ment just  issued  which  clears  the  atmosphere  on  the  question  of  interchangeability. 

At  the  same  time  Otterson  declared  that  quality  in  production  is  the  answer  to 
the  audien,  or  sound  film.  Continued  success  of  talking  pictures,  he  said,  depends 
upon  high  quality. 


The  Otterson  statement,  of  interest  to 
all  in  the  industry,  follows: 

"The  continued  success  of  talking  pic- 
tures  depends   upon   the   maintenance  of 
quality.     Indeed,  I  might  say  it  depends 
upon  an  improvement  in  quality.    As  the 
public  taste  develops  it  will  become  more 
exacting  and  critical  and  it  is  essential  that 
there   be   continued    improvement   in  the 
quality  of  productions  and  of  apparatus  to 
meet  these  more  exacting  requirements. 
"If  the  producers,  the  exhibitors  or 
ourselves  compromise  on  this  question 
of  quality  and  accept  quality  lower 
than  our  present  standard,  the  cause 
of  talking  pictures  is  lost. 

"If  the  exhibitor  installs  equipment 
that  gives  inferior  quality  of  reproduc- 
tion he  has  not  only  wasted  the  cost 
of  that  equipment  but  he  has  injured 
the  good  name  of  his  house  and  ruined 
his  market  for  talking  pictures.  He 
cannot  afford  to  pay  less  than  the  cost 
of  the  best.  The  purchase  of  inferior 
equipment,  because  it  is  cheap,  is  not 
an  economy  but  a  destructive,  wasteful 
thing. 

"We  will  not  in  the  interest  of  sales  put 
on  the  market  apparatus  of  lower  quality 
than  the  best  we  can  build.  Our  first  ef- 
forts will  always  be  directed  toward  higher 
quality  and  this  quality  will  never  be  sac- 
rificed to  lower  prices.  The  road  to  higher 
profits  in  the  motion  picture  industry  lies, 
we  believe,  in  this  direction. 

Must  Protect  Investment 

"We  owe  this  to  ourselves,  to  the  pro- 
ducers who  are  licensed  by  us,  and  to  the 
exhibitors  who  have  already  installed  our 
equipment.    We  all  have  a  substantial  in- 


vestment in  talking  pictures  and  a  mutual 
interest  in  seeing  that  that  investment  is 
protected  against  the  injury  that  will  result 
from  the  installation  in  theatres  of  unsatis- 
factory equipment  that  will  offend  the  pub- 
lic taste. 

"If  other  manufacturers  can  build  and 
sell  equipment  as  good  as  ours  for  less 
money  and  it  is  equipment  that  does  not  in- 
fringe our  patents,  they  deserve  the  business 
and  will  get  it.  When  better  equipments 
are  built,  Western  Electric  will  build  them, 
and  if  the  standard  of  the  industry  is  to  be 
the  best,  then  when  cheaper  equipments  are 
built  Western  Electric  will  build  them. 
Understanding  Reached 

"We  have  just  reached  an  understanding 
with  the  producers  licensed  by  us  that  they 
will  play  their  productions  on  any  equip- 
ment which  in  their  judgment  gives  results 
of  satisfactory  quality.  If  they  find  or  we 
demonstrate  that  the  quality  is  not  up  to 
standard  then  they  will  cease  to  serve  such 
equipment. 

"To  the  exhibitor  we  say:  If  you  can  get 
an  equipment  as  good  as  ours  for  less 
money,  buy  it,  but  if  it  is  of  lower  quality, 
don't  buy  it  at  any  price.  Wait  until  you 
can  offer  your  public  the  best.  Our  interest 
is  to  see  you  prosper  through  talking  pic- 
tures. The  success  of  talking  pictures  means 
more  to  us  than  sales  or  loss  of  sales.' 


Cigaret  Starts  Fire 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

MADISON,  IND.,  Jan.  2— A  fire,  be- 
lieved to  have  started  from  a  discarded 
cigaret,  damaged  the  Little  Grand  theatre, 
the  loss  estimated  at  $15,000. 


MP  TO  Stops  Fight  on  Non-Theatrical 

Shows  Following  Federal  Antitrust  Suit 

(Washington  Bureau  of  the  Herald-World) 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  Jan.  2. — Settlement  by  agreement  of  the  proceedings 
instituted  by  the  government  against  the  Oklahoma  M  P  T  O,  as  a  result  of  the 
latter's  fight  against  non-theatricals,  was  announced  last  week  by  the  Department 
of  Justice  following  the  Sling  by  the  United  States  attorney  at  Oklahoma  City  of 
a  petition  in  equity  under  the  Sherman  antitrust  act,  and  a  consent  decree  grant- 
ing the  relief  asked  in  the  petition. 

The  government's  petition  charged  that  the  defendant  association  was  engaged 
in  a  conspiracy  to  prevent  non-theatrical  exhibitors  in  Oklahoma  and  Northern 
Texas  from  securing  film  service  from  the  Oklahoma  City  exchanges,  while  the 
decree  enjoins  the  association,  its  members,  directors,  officers,  agents,  and  employes 
from  coercing  distributors  to  refuse  to  deal  with  or  to  cease  to  deal  with  no'-.- 
theatrical  exhibitois  and  from  distributing  or  threatening  to  distribute  to  '..em- 
bers of  the  association  lists  naming  distributors  serving  non-theatrical  accounts. 


/ 


26 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


First  National 

FIRST  NATIONAL'S  recent  reorganiza- 
tion, far  from  upsetting  this  fine  old-line 
company,  seems  to  have  fired  it  with  amaz- 
ing vitality  and  energy. 

A  visit  to  the  First  National  offices  shows 
a  plant  clearly  going  full-speed  ahead. 
There  is  neither  idleness  nor  indecision. 
Obviously,  First  National  will  continue  to 
be  a  factor  of  first-rate  importance  in  the 
film  industry,  an  ambition  entirely  within 
reason  when  one  considers  the  high  quality 
of  the  product  First  National  makes.  (Note 
"The  Barker,"  at  the  Central,  one  of  the 
best  pictures  on  Broadway  in  a  long  time.) 

*  *  * 

First  National,  under  the  leaders  of  its 
reorganization,  is  a  young  outfit  and  has 
the  refreshing  qualities  of  youth. 

Herman  Starr,  the  new  president,  is  un- 
der thirty.  But  he  has  been  in  the  film  in- 
dustry, with  the  Warners,  for  ten  years  and 
he  knows  just  exactly  what  he  wants. 
What  he  wants,  I  might  add,  is  to  make 
First  National  eminently  successful,  so 
much  so  that  he  is  interested  only  in  con- 
tributions toward  that  end. 

For  instance,  and  I  trust  I'm  not  reveal- 
ing a  secret,  Starr  declines  and  avoids  per- 
sonal publicity.  He  sees  no  reason  why 
Herman  Starr  should  be  built  up,  sold  and 
resold  to  the  public  or  to  the  industry. 
First  National  is  not  engaged  in  putting 
over  Starr,  therefore  it  seems  to  him  a 
waste  of  effort  to  publicize  him.  Now,  if 
you  want  to  give  Richard  Barthelmess  pub- 
licity .  .  . 

*  *  * 

Ned  Depinet,  sales  manager  of  First  Na- 
tional, is  well-known  in  the  industry  and 
well-liked.  He  has  done  a  fine  job  of  sales- 
manship for  more  than  four  years  and  his 
inclusion  in  the  new  scheme  at  First  Na- 
tional is  as  much  a  tribute  to  the  company's 
good  sense  as  a  tribute  to  his  good  work. 

Depinet,  too,  is  a  young  man. 

*  *  * 

Charlie  Einfeld,  newly  appointed  director 
of  advertising  and  publicity  for  First  Na- 
tional, has  had  an  experience  that  fits  him 
uniquely  for  his  job.  Not  only  has  he  held 
every  subordinate  position  in  his  depart- 
ment before  reaching  the  top,  but  he  has 
been  on  the  exhibitor's  side  of  the  fence. 

Which  is  one  reason  why  First  National 
is  going  out  of  its  way  to  help  the  exhib- 
itor. For  instance,  with  every  First  Na- 
tional picture  will  go  a  campaign  of  ex- 
ploitation designed  especially  for  the  thea- 
tre into  which  it  is  scheduled  to  go. 

If  you  have  a  theatre  in  Duluth  and  are 
going  to  play  "Synthetic  Sin"  or  "Scarlet 
Seas"  you  will  get  from  First  National  a 
number  of  suggestions  designed  to  help  put 
the  picture  over  in  your  city.  If  you  are 
at  Forth  Worth  you  will  get  similar  aid, 
but  not  necessarily  the  same  suggestions. 

"We  have  no  desire  to  tell  an  exhibitor 
how  to  play  a  picture,"  Einfeld  told  me, 
"but  we  want  to  do  everything  in  our  power 
to  help  him  with  suggestions  if  he  wants 
them.  Frequently  an  exhibitor  shows  a  pic- 
ture he  hasn't  seen  and  he's  rather  up 
against  it  to  know  what  to  emphasize,  what 
to  exploit.  We  want  to  give  him  all  the 
information  he  can  use  to  enable  him  to 
exploit  his  pictures  intelligently  and  bring 
crowds  into  his  theatres." 

*  *  * 

First  National's  progress  in  the  industry 
wil!  be  closely  watched  during  the  coming 

months. 

PETER  VISCHER. 


Ext  reel!  All  About  Cleopatra! 


AFTER  Caesar  had  got  to  be  the  big  shot  in  Rome,  everything  was  hotsy-totsy  until 
n  he  sent  his  buddy,  Mark  Anthony,  over  to  Egypt.  There  Mark  met  Cleopatra,  a 
queen — and  how!  Well,  it  seems  Caesar  had  met  this  dame  himself,  so — but  it's  a  long 
story.  And  though  old,  it  gets  a  thoroughly  modern  telling  in  "When  Caesar  Ran  a 
Newspaper,"  Paramount-Christie  audien. 


Above: 
Raymond  Hatton 
as  Caesar 
(Himself!) 


Right: 
Scene  on 
the  Nile 
Hatton  and 
Miss  Lorraine 


Above: 
Betty  Lorraine 

as  Cleopatra 
(Hot  diggety!) 


Below: 
Anthony  breaks 
the  big  story 
Hatton  and 
Sam  Hardy 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


27 


Prosperity  Sure  to  Continue 

Into  New  Year,  Declares  Klein 

High  Record  Set  in  Domestic 
Trade,  Foreign  Is  Exceptional 


Daylight  Time  Gets 
A  Bad  Trimming  at 
This  Public  Hearing 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

KANSAS  CITY,  Jan.  2.— Only  one  out 
of  twenty-one  men  and  women  representa- 
tives of  various  organizations  who  attended 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  hearing  on  day- 
light saving,  approved  the  practice.  He  was 
a  railroad  representative.  As  a  result  there 
will  be  no  daylight  saving  in  force  in 
Kansas  City  next  summer,  or  in  a  good 
many  years,  in  all  probability. 

A.  H.  Cole,  representing  the  exchanges  of 
Kansas  City,  and  C.  H.  Burkey,  represent- 
ing suburban  theatre  owners,  insisted  that 
one  hour,  for  both  open-air  and  housed 
motion  picture  shows,  would  cause  a  finan- 
cial loss  that  would  prove  ruinous  to  the 
exhibitors. 

"I  haven't  heard  a  man  or  woman  in  the 
postal  service  say  a  single  word  in  favor 
of  daylight  saving,"  Mrs.  M.  S.  Garland, 
of  the  post  office  clerks'  auxiliary  said. 

The  Kansas  City  Teachers'  Club  and  all 
union  labor  organizations  voted  an  em- 
phatic "No,"  on  the  proposed  plan. 


Fox  Buys  Into  3  More 
Wisconsin  Towns;  Plans 
Two  Others  Elsewhere 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
MILWAUKEE,  Jan.  2.— Further  expan- 
sion of  Fox-Midwesco  is  seen  in  the  recent 
consummation  of  deals  for  three  Wisconsin 
situations,  Antigo,  Stevens  Point  and  Mar- 
inette. 

The  Palace,  at  Antigo,  formerly  operated 
by  Harvey  Hanson,  was  leased,  followed 
quickly  by  the  acquisition  of  the  New 
Antigo,  an  Associated  Theatre  Company 
house.  Movietone  and  Vitaphone  installa- 
tions have  been  started  at  the  Palace.  In 
Stevens  Point,  Midwesco  has  acquired  J.  P. 
Adler's  Majestic  and  Lyric  theatres.  At  Mar- 
inette, the  Marinette  has  been  taken  over. 

Through  a  radio  tie-up  with  the  Wis- 
consin News  station  here,  programs  will 
be  broadcast  from  the  Strand  and  Wiscon- 
sin theatres,  as  well  as  the  Wisconsin  Roof 
Gardens.  State  officials  have  approved  plans 
for  two  new  Fox-Midwesco  houses,  a  2,000- 
seat  theatre  at  Appleton,  and  a  2,500-seat 
house  at  Green  Bay. 


1,200  Green  Lights  Used 
In  3  Theatres'  Christmas 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

PORTLAND,  ORE.,  Jan.  2.  —  Twelve 
hunred  red  and  green  lights,  a  mile  of  cedar 
boughs,  a  half  mile  of  tinsel,  six  tail  Christ- 
mas trees  and  barrels  of  tree  ornaments, 
were  among  the  holiday  decorations  used 
by  the  Consolidated  Portland  Theatres, 
Inc.,  in  their  three  theatres:  The  United 
Artists,  Rivoli  and  Peoples,  including  the 
decorations  for  a  Monster  Midnight  Mat- 
inee at  the  Rivoli. 

The  fifth  annual  Christmas  matinee  was 
given  by  the  Oregon  council,  National 
Motion  Picture  League,  at  the  Rivoli 
Theatre,  where  children  in  all  institutions 
were  guests.  The  two  photoplays  given  for 
their  benefit  were,  "Alice  in  Wonderland," 
and  "Robinson  Crusoe." 


Wages  Continue  at  High  Level  and  Unemployment  at 
Minimum,  Says  Bureau  of  Commerce  Director 

The  year  1929  opens  with  every  prospect  of  a  maintenance  of  the  general 
prosperity  of  recent  months  which  brought  a  new  high  record  in  domestic 
business  and  an  exceptional  volume  of  foreign  trade,  says  Dr.  Julius  Klein, 
director  of  the  Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Commerce,  in  a  statement  at  Washington,  January  2. 

Farm  products  increased  5  per  cent  in  output  during  1928  while  an  even 
greater  increase  was  registered  in  industrial  production.  Mer«handise  exports 
were  the  highest  since  1920,  passing  the  five  billion  dollar  mark.  Automotive 
and  construction  advanced,  the  former  to  its  highest  figure,  the  latter  above 
its  1927  total. 


Rates  for  call  money  and  for  stock-ex- 
change time  loans  rose  sharply,  but  bank 
credit  for  commercial  purposes  continued 
in  ample  supply  at  only  slightly  higher 
rates,  and  open  market  rates  for  commercial 
paper  have  shown  a  somewhat  higher  ad- 
vance, Klein  reported. 

Wage  at  High  Level 

There  was  little  change  in  volume  of 
wholesale  distribution  or  in  the  general 
level  of  wholesale  prices.  Business  effi- 
ciency increased. 

"Wages  continue  at  a  high  level," 
Klein  announced,  "and  the  unemploy- 
ment which  was  noted  in  the  early 
part  of  1928  has  been  reduced  to  a 
minimum.  Factory  employment  was 
increased  for  the  first  time  in  a  num- 
ber of  years." 

"Construction  operations  which  declined 
slightly  in  1927  showed  another  large  ex- 
pansion during  the  year  just  finished,"  Klein 
declared.  "Contracts  for  new  construction 
increased  in  value  by  almost  7  per  cent,  as 
larger  awards  for  residences,  industrial 
buildings,  public  works  and  utilities,  and 
educational  buildings  more  than  offset  the 
decrease  in  other  types  of  construction. 
These  expanding  operations  resulted  in  a 
larger  output  of  structural  steel,  brick,  ce- 
ment, and  many  other  building  materials. 
Lumber  cut,  on  the  other  hand,  decreased 
for  the  third  successive  year." 

"Agricultural  output  has  shown  al- 
most as  great  an  increase  as  manu- 
facturing during  the  past  year,"  he 
stated.    "The  total  land  used  for  all 


crops  harvested  was  larger  by  about 
8.000.000  acres  than  in  1927  and  the 
aggregate   production   increased  ap- 
proximately 5  per  cent.   The  average 
of  farm  prices  showed  little  change: 
prices  of  meat  animals,  dairy  prod- 
ucts, and  poultry  products  advanced, 
while  quotations  for  grains,  and  fruits 
and  vegetables  receded. 
Steady   expansion   in   exports   of  other 
nations  were  cited  by  Klein  as  pointing  to 
worldwide  improvement   in  business  con- 
ditions in  recent  years.     A  five  per  cent 
increase  in  value  of  exports  of  10  European 
nations  in  the  first  nine  months  of  1928 
was  recorded  over  the  same  period  in  1927. 
Outside  of  Europe  the  aggregate  was  about  . 
the  same  as  in  1927. 

Merchandise  Exports  Increase 
The  total  value  of  our  merchandise  ex- 
ports increased  about  3  per  cent  in  1928 
while  average  price  was  unchanged.^  Ex- 
ports of  finished  manufactures  were  70  per 
cent  higher  than  in  1922.  Total  imports  of 
the  United  States  were  $4,100,000,000,  or  2 
per  cent  less  than  in  1927. 

"In  summarizing  conditions  at  the  end 
of  1928,"  Klein  concluded,  "we  may  state 
that  domestic  production  and  trade  are  in 
record  volume  and  that  our  foreign  com- 
merce continues  to  show  «teady  growth 
as  a  result  of  an  increasing  foreign  demand 
for  American  manufactures.  The  mainte- 
nance of  our  imports  at  about  the  same 
level  as  in  the  two  preceding  years  indi- 
cates the  large  purchasing  power  and  gen- 
eral prosperity  of  the  United  States." 


Paramount  Purchases  60,000  More  B  &  K 

Shares;  Holdings  Now  Over  87  Per  Cent 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2. — Paramount  has  purchased  privately  approximately  60,000 
additional  voting  trust  certiBcates  of  Balaban  &  Katz  Corporation,  issuing  1.6 
shares  of  Paramount  Famous  Lasky  Corporation  new  stock  for  each  share  of 
Balaban  &  Katz.  This  additional  purchase  gives  Paramount  approximately  87  and 
one  half  per  cent  of  the  issued  and  outstanding  voting  trust  certiBcates  of  Bala- 
ban &  Katz,  as  compared  with  65  per  cent  heretofore  held. 

It  was  also  announced  that  s. inngements  had  been  made  by  Paramount  to  pur- 
chase approximately  $2,0rO.00C  worth  of  outstanding  certiBcates  of  indebtedness 
of  Guaranty  Trust  Company,  which  come  due  in  October.  1929.  These  certiBcates 
were  issued  under  -*e  original  purchase  of  Balaban  &  Katz  stock  by  Paramount 
two  years  ago  and  were  purchased  on  a  basis  of  one  share  of  Paramount  stock  for 
each  $53.25  par  '  <*Jue  of  certiBcates  of  indebtedness. 

The  purchasing  of  these  certiBcates  on  this  basis  relieves  Paramount  of  making 
this  cash  payment  in  October,  1929,  and  changes  this  quick  liability,  with  a  7  per 
cent  interest  r?te.  into  common  stock  at  $53.25  per  share. 


28 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


F  N  Announces  Impressive  Number 
Of  Films  All  with  Dialogue 

Corinne  Griffith  Sigurd  for  Six  Productions  in  Three  Years — Barthelmess 
Contract  Reneived  for  Two  Seasons 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2. — An  impressive  number  of  First  National-Vita- 
phone  Productions,  all  with  dialogue,  was  announced  today  for  coming 
release  by  Ned.  E.  Depinet,  First  National's  general  sales  manager. 
This  announcement  was  made  concurrently  with  the  fact  that  Corinne  Griffith 
had  been  signed  to  a  three-year  contract  to  make  six  audiens,  the  first  to  be 
"Prisoners." 


ALICE  WHITE  is  signed  to  make  four 
with  dialogue  next  year,  and  Richard 
Barthelmess'  contract  has  been  renewed  for 
two  years  and  will  make  three  a  year  with 
Vitaphone  synchronization. 

First  National  also  has  purchased  the 
rights  of  "Rose  of  Killarney,"  "When  Irish 
Eyes  Are  Smiling,"  "Riviera"  and  "The 
Queen  of  Jazz."  It  is  stated  as  probable 
that  "When  Irish  Eyes  Are  Smiling"  will 
star  Colleen  Moore  on  completion  of  "Why 
Be  Good." 

Dialogue  for  Other  Stars 

The  list  announced  by  Depinet  for  dia- 
logue includes  the  Corinne  Griffith  pictures 
under  her  new  contract  with  two  super- 
specials  a  year;  also  the  remaining  pictures 
to  be  made  by  the  star  under  her  former 
contract.  Coming  productions  starring 
Richard  Barthelmess,  Billie  Dove  and  Mil- 
ton Sills  also  will  be  with  dialogue. 

Pictures  to  be  completed  for  this  year's 
program  now  definitely  set  for  dialogue  are 
"Weary  River,"  starring  Richard  Barthel- 
mess; "His  Captive  Woman,"  with  Milton 
Sills  and  Dorothy  Mackaill;  "Saturday's 
Children"  and  "Prisoners,"  starring  Corinne 
Griffith;  "Hot  Stuff,"  starring  Alice  White; 
"Two  Weeks  Off"  and  "The  Girl  in  the 
Glass  Cage,"  with  Dorothy  Mackaill;  "Chil- 
dren of  the  Ritz,"  with  Dorothy  Mackaill 
and  Jack  Mulhall;  "The  Man  and  the  Mo- 
ment," with  Billie  Dove  and  Rod  LaRocque; 
"Heart  of  a  Princess,"  "The  Other  To- 
morrow," starring  Billie  Dove;  "The 
Squall,"  a  special;  "Love  and  the  Devil," 
"Eagle's  Trail"  and  "The  Spotter,"  starring 
Milton  Sills;  "House  of  Horrors,"  a  mys- 
tery melodrama.  A  number  of  productions 
in  this  list  are  completed  and  others  will 


Returns  to  Native 
China  to  Make  Films 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
PASCO,  WASH.,  Jan.  2.— One  of 
the  most  interesting  projects  in 
cinema  history  is  about  to  be  insti- 
tuted in  the  opening  of  a  studio  in 
Shanghai,  China,  by  James  Wong 
Howe,  cameraman  for  Paramount  and 
Metro-Coldwyn-Mayer,  successively. 
Nineteen  years  ago  he  was  a  pupil 
in  the  Pasco  schools.  He  is  a  son 
of  Wong  How,  Chinese  merchant.  In 
January  he  leaves  for  Shanghai, 
where  he  goes  to  open  a  studio  as  the 
head  of  his  own  company.  The  Great 
Wall  Motion  Picture  Corporation, 
which  will  produce  some  of  his  cov 
try's  legends,  with  Chinese  actors. 
The  first  will  be  known  as  "The  Soul 
of  the  Bell."  Howe  will  also  exhibit 
to  the  schools  of  China  industrial 
films  depicting  the  great  industries 
of  the  United  States.  Howe  is 
backed  by  wealthy  Chinese  of  San 
Francisco  and  New  York. 


be  ready  in  time  to  meet  the  winter  and 
spring  release  schedule. 

First  New  Stage  in  Use 

The  first  of  the  eight  soundproof  stages 
being  constructed  at  the  First  National 
Studios  in  Burbank  is  now  in  use  and  others 
are  being  rushed  to  completion.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  stages  on  the  First  National  lot, 
there  are  eleven  Vitaphone  soundproof 
stages  in  California  and  one  in  Brooklyn, 
all  of  which  may  be  used  if  necessary. 

First  National  Pictures  enters  upon  the 
new  year  with  stars  and  featured  players 
who  have  proved  themselves  especially  well 
adapted  to  talking  pictures.  Richard 
Barthelmess  sings  as  well  as  talks  in 
"Weary  River."  The  picture  is  finished. 
Doris  Dawson  Signed  Anew 

Corinne  Griffith  has  a  voice  of  such  fine 
quality  for  Vitaphone  reproduction  that  she 
was  signed  exclusively  for  super-specials 
with  dialogue.  Her  contract  covers  the  next 
three  years,  during  which  she  will  make  six 
productions. 

Dorothy  Mackaill  and  Jack  Mulhall  will 
be  seen  and  heard  in  Vitaphone  produc- 
tions and  all  the  contract  players  have 
shown  themselves  adapted  to  sound  film. 
Doris  Dawson  has  been  given  a  new  con- 
tract following  the  excellent  showing  she 
made  in  dialogue  sequences. 


Allen  Named  Assistant 
To  Warners'  Sales  Head 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
DETROIT,  Jan.  2.— James  V.  Allan,  man- 
ager of  the  Warner  Brothers  exchange 
here  for  the  last  four  years,  has  been  ap- 
pointed assistant  general  sales  manager  of 
the  company. 

Mr.  Allan,  who  also  is  president  of  the 
Detroit  Film  Board  of  Trade,  will  go  to 
New  York  to  take  up  his  new  duties  there 
on  January  7.  No  announcement  has  been 
made  as  to  who  will  be  appointed  to  fill 
the  vacancv. 


Kiwanis  Christmas  Party 
Makes  500  Children  Happy 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
CAMBRIDGE,  O.,  Jan.  2.— The  Christ- 
mas party  of  the  Kiwanis  club  held  at  the 
Qolonial  theatre  attracted  over  500  children. 
-The  party  was  a  big  success  and  the  re- 
mains of  the  food  and  toys  left  over  were 
given  to  the  poor.  The  Colonial  theatre 
received  front  page  story  on  the  Christmas 
-how  in  the  Cambridge  paper. 


11  c*  Ray  arts  7928-29 
Program  Are  Completed 

(Spe  j  ■<  hv-  raid-World) 
NEW  YOKK,  ,  -.  >  --Three  more  pic- 
tures, making  1  in  al  ,  have  been  completed 
by  producer  Trcm  Coir  for  Rayart's  1928-20 
program.  The  three  pictures  that  have  just 
been  completed  are  "'fhe  Black  Pearl," 
"When  Dreams  Conic  Trie"  and  "Brothers." 


Not  Matrimony 
But  Alimony ! 


Scenes  from  a  new  Columbia  pro- 
duction starring  Lois  Wilson,  were 
presented  on  the  "Broadway"  page  in 
last  week's  issue,  the  production  being 
erroneously  called  "Object — Matri- 
mony." The  correct  title  is  "Object 
— Alimony."  The  picture  is  further 
described  in  the  "New  Pictures"  de- 
partment of  this  issue. 


"Faker"  Role  Results  in 
New  Columbia  Contract 
For  Jacqueline  Logan 

(Special  to  the  Herald  World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  2.— Because,  it  is 
said,  of  her  performance  in  "The  Faker," 
in  which  she  portrays  three  roles,  Colum- 
bia Pictures  has  re- 
newed its  contract 
with  Jacqueline 
Logan  for  two  addi- 
t  i  o  n  a  1  productions 
on  the  current  sea- 
son's i)  r  o  g  r  a  in. 
Aside  from  her  ap- 
pearance in  "T  h  e 
Faker,"  Miss  Logan 
was  also  featured  by 
Columbia  in  "Noth- 
ing to  Wear." 

Miss  Logan,  who 
includes  in  her  many 
portrayals,  that  of 
Mary  Magdalene,  in 
"King  of  Kings,"  al- 
so has  had  several  years  of  experience  on 
the  stage,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  she 
may  appear  in  one  of  Columbia's  audien 
productions,  it  is  stated.  She  has  starred 
in  several  recent  Columbia  productions. 


Jacqueline  Logan 


Washington  Blue  Law 
Would  Rob  Workmen  of 
Recreation,  Says  Austin 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
WASHINGTON, Jan.2.— A  citizens  com- 
mittee of  the  association  opposed  to  Blue 
Laws  has  been  organized  here  to  fight  the 
Lankford  bill. 

President  Austin  of  the  district  A  O  B  L 
assailed  the  claim  that  the  bill  would  "pro- 
tect labor,"  and  declared  that,  instead,  it 
would  rob  labor  of  Sunday  shows,  baseball 
and  other  beneficial  forms  of  recreation  on 
its  only  day  of  leisure. 

Attorney  John  J.  McGinnis  is  chairman 
of  the  citizen's  committee. 


Comerford  and  Stanley 
Book  Columbia  Products 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2— A  deal  has  been 
closed  between  the  Comerford  Circuit  and 
Columbia  Pictures  in  which  the  circuit  has 
hooked  to  play  Columbia  product  for  the  cur- 
rent j^ason.  The  contract  involves  both  silent 
and  sound  pictures. 

"Submarine,"  Columbia's  underwater  pic- 
ture, has  been  booked  by  the  Stanley-Cran- 
dall  circuit  for  their  first  run  houses  in 
West  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Washington. 


Browne  Joins  Brin  Chain 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
MILWAUKEE,  Jan.  2. —  Stan  Browne, 
formerly  with  the  Saxe  and  Midwesco 
theatres  in  Milwaukee  as  district  manager, 
has  become  district  manager  of  the  L.  K. 
Brin  Theatres,  new  chain. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS    H  ERA  LD -WORLD 


29 


33  Features  Listed 
On  Universal^  1929 
Production  Program 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2.— Thirty-three  long 
features  are  on  Universal's  huge  production 
program  for  1929  "Broadway"  is  the  first 
all-audien  for  the  coming  schedule.  The 
pictures  listed  on  the  1929  program  are: 

"The  Climax,"  "The  King  of  Ja2z."  "The  Min- 
strel Man."  "A  Bargain  in  the  Kremlin,"  "The 
Shannons  of  Broadway,"  "Barnum  Was  Right," 
"The  Great  Microphone  Murder."  "The  Drake  Mur- 
der Case."  "The  Luxury  Husband,"  "Campus  Kisses," 
"The  Girl  Dodger,"  "No  Place  to  Love,"  "The  Brag- 
gart," "The  Boy  Wonder,"  "Flaming  Daughters," 
"The  Last  Act."  "Grease  Paint,"  "The  Greezer," 
■"Why  Girls  Walk  Home,"  "You've  Got  to  Fight." 
"One  Rainy  Xight."  "The  Husband  Hunt,"  "That 
Blonde,"  "Dangerous  Dimples,"  "The  Compromise," 
"The  Devil."  "Spring  Showers,"  "Sutters  Gold." 
"The  Sin  Ye  Do,"  "The  Cohens  and  Kellys  in 
Turkey."  "Come  Across,"  "The  Wardrobe  Woman," 
■"The  Pretty  Sister  of  Jose,"  "The  Five  Frankfur- 
ters." "Folle  Farine."  "White  Tiger."  "Fallen 
Angels,"  'The  House  of  Glass,"  and  "Polish  Blood." 
The  seven  last  will  be  made  in  Europe. 

William  Le  Baron  Will 

Supervise  "Rio  Rita" 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Tan.  2— William  Le  Baron 
will  be  in  charge  of  preparations  for  the 
filming  of  the  first  of  1929's  FBO  fea- 
tures "Rio  Rita."  The 
picture  will  be  made 
with  the  original  Flo- 
renz  Ziegfeld  cast 
and  music. 

Before  entering  the 
cinema  world  Le 
Baron  wrote  many 
stage  plays  and  was 
associated  with  the 
late  Yictor  Herbert  in 
authorship  of  "Her 
Regiment,"  and  with 
Yictor  Jacobi  and 
Fritz  Kreisler  on 
"Apple  Blossoms." 

Rehearsals  will  be 
held  for  two  weeks 
before  the  camera  will  be  turned  on  the 
production,  according  to  Le  Baron,  who  is 
in  charge  of  FBO  studio  activities. 


UFA  Stockholders  Have 

Meeting,  97%  Present 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

BERLIN,  Jan.  2. — At  a  meeting  of  the 
U  F  A,  which  took  place  on  December  14, 
97  per  cent  of  the  0  F  A  capital  was  repre- 
sented. In  answer  to  the  question  regard- 
ing the  Afifa  conflagration,  it  was  stated 
that  the  negotiations  with  the  insurance 
companies  have  been  terminated  and  that 
the  U  F  A  has  suffered  no  financial  dam- 
ages. 

New  Keswick  Theatre 

Opened  on  Christmas 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
GLENSIDE,  PA..  Jan.  2.— Edwin  N 
Johnson's  new  Keswick  theatre  costing 
"$500,000  was  opened  on  Christmas  day. 
The  Keswick  is  of  old  English  construction 
■with  a  seating  capacity  of  1,700  and  repre- 
sents the  very  latest  in  theatre  construction. 


Theatre  Changes  Name 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

GREENFIELD.     IXD..     Jan.    2.— The 
Whynot  theatre  changed  its  name  to  the 
•Riley  theatre.    The  new  name  was  inaugu- 
^  January  1. 


Marcus  Is  F  B  O  Vice  President; 
Rosenzweig  General  Sales  Head 

Kahane  Is  Elected  Treasurer  and  Secretary  and  Herman  Zohbel 
His  Assistant — Scollard  and  Delehantv 
Voluntarily  Resign 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
XEW  YORK.  Jan.  2. — Lee  Marcus  is  now  a  vice  president  of  F  B  O  Produc- 
tions, Inc.,  and  Charles  Rosenzweig  is  general  sales  manager.    These  elections, 
and  others,  were  made  at  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  Friday. 

B.  B.  Kahane  was  elected  treasurer  and  secretary,  following  the  voluntary 
resignations  of  Clinton  J.  Scollard  and  Thomas  Delehantv.  former  treasurer 
and  secretary,  respectively.  Herman  Zohbel  was  elected  assistant  treasurer 
and  secretary. 

York  by  Universal,  and  remained  with  that 
organization  for  four  years,  joining  FBO 
in  1922  as  sales  manager  for  the  New  York 
6ffice.  He  was  promoted  last  year  to  East- 
ern division  manager. 

B.  B.  Kahane,  newly  elected  treasurer 
and  secretary  of  F  B  0,  is  also  treasurer 
and  secretary  of  Radio- Keith-Orpheum 
Corporation  as  well  as  Keith-Albee-Orpheum 
Corporation. 

Herman  Zohbel,  newly  elected  assistant 
treasurer  and  assistant  secretary  of  FBO, 
has  been  connected  with  the  United  States 
Leather  Company  for  the  last  24  years  as 
auditor  and  assistant  controller. 

Rumors  That  Warners 

Seek  New  Boyd  Theatre 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
PHILADELPHIA,  Jan.  2.— Unconfirmed 
rumors  are  current  to  the  effect  that  War- 
ner Brothers  are  angling  for  the  new  Bo\J 
theatre.  It  is  reported  that  Warners  have 
offered  Boyd  a  quarter  of  a  million  profit 
for  the  house,  which  has  been  open  less 
than  a  week. 

Saengers  Issues  50  Cents 
Dividend  on  Common  Stock 

(Special  to  the  Herald- World) 
NEW  ORLEANS.  Jan.  2— A  quarterly 
dividend  of  fifty  cents  a  share  on  both  the 
Class  A  and  Class  B  common  stocks  pay- 
able out  of  the  profits,  was  given  yesterday 
to  all  stockholders  on  record  Dec.  31,  1928, 
by  Saenger  Theatres,  Inc. 

Three  Fires  in  8  Days 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

QUEBEC,  Jan.  2  — The  third  fire  in  eight 
days  broke  out  in  the  Princess  theatre 
Christmas  night.  An  investigation  is  under  way. 

Christies  Form  $1,500,000  Corporation 

To  Take  Over  Metropolitan  Studios 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD ,  Jan.  2. — The  Christie  brothers  have  Bled  incorporation  papers 
for  an  organization  representing  a  million  and  a  half  dollars,  to  be  known  as 
Metropolitan  Sound  Studios.  Inc.  It  has  taken  over  the  properties  of  the  Metro- 
politan Studios  in  Hollywood  as  well  as  the  newly  built  and  operating  sound  studios 
at  the  same  location. 

It  is  understood  that  several  large  outside  interests  besides  the  Christies  are 
being  pooled  in  the  ownership  of  at  least  six  different  producing  companies,  which 
will  have  a  combined  film  program  for  the  coming  year  representing  more  than 
$20,000,000. 

Officers  of  the  nJw  corporation  are  Charles  H.  Christie,  president;  Al  E.  Christie, 
vice-president;  ar.d  /illiam  S.  Holman,  secretary  and  treasurer.  Phil  L.  Ryan  is 
general  manager  in  charge  of  production. 

Among  the  important  film  producing  organizations  now  making  pictures  at 
Metropolitan  are  Harold  Lloyd.  Caddo,  Columbia.  British  and  Dominion  Films. 
Ltd.,  Sou  -Art,  Chesterfield.  Liberty,  Cliff  Broughton  and  the  Christie  audien 
companies. 


Lee  Marcus  has  been  associated  with 
FBO  since  its  inception  seven  years  ago. 
He  entered  the  organization  as  assistant 
to  the  late  Harry 
Berman,  general 
sales  manager.  Upon 
B  e  r  m  a  n's  death, 
Marcus  became  gen- 
eral sales  manager 
and  has  been  serv- 
ing FBO  in  that 
capacity  for  the  last 


%  o-enz*.  ei: 


Lee  Marru- 

four  years. 

Marcus  started  his 
film  career  in  1919 
as  salesman  and 
booker  for  Realart 
Pictures  Company, 
in  Buffalo.  When  a 
better  opportunity 
presented  itself,  he 
joined  Selznick  Pictures  Company  in  Xew 
York,  and  remained  with  that  organization 
for  one  year.  The  Selznick  bankruptcy  sent 
him  to  the  R-C  Pictures  Corporation. 
When  R-C  was  merged  into  FBO  Pro- 
ductions, Marcus  was  one  of  the  few  execu- 
tives who  remained  with  the  organization 
as  assistant  to  Mr.  Berman. 

Charles  Rosenzweig  is  another  veteran  of 
the  picture  business.  He  has  been  in  pic- 
tures for  thirteen  years,  and  like  Marcus, 
has  been  associated  with  FBO  Productions 
since  its  inception  seven  years  ago.  He 
started  his  career  as  a  salesman  for  Uni- 
versal Pictures  Company.  In  two  years, 
he  was  made  division  manager  for  Xew 


30  EXHIBITORS    HERALD-WORLD  January  5,  1929 


"Shooting"  the  Tiffuny-Stahl  convention  turned  out  to  be. 
"tough"  when  about  31  gathered  in  the  hall.  How  to  get  'em 
all  in  at  short  range?  Here's  the  answer — in  two  sections.  In 
that  above  are  ( front  row)  Curtis  Nagel,  Carl  Goe,  Rudolph 
Flothow,  Grant  L.  Cook,  (second  row)  Eph  Rosen,  Phil  E. 
Myers,  Abe  Meyer.  L.  J.  Miller,  Charles  Weiner,  Carl  Shalit. 
(back  row)  J.  E.  O'Toole.  H.  I.  Goldman,  Phil  Hazza,  Mannie 
Broivn  and  Allan  Moritz. 


And  in  this  section  are  shown  (front  row)  L.  A.  Young,  Oscar  Hanson 
(the  new  general  sales  manager,  to  introduce  whom  the  gathering  was 
held),  William  Shapiro,  A.  L.  Selig,  A.  H.  McLaughlin,  (second  row) 
H.  F.  Lefhollz,  S.  A.  Galanty,  Tom  Colby.  ].  L.  Franconi,  R.  A.  Kelly. 
Sterling  Wilson,  Pete  Dana,  (back  row)  Harry  Brown,  Al  Blofson,  Roy 
Avey,  Ed  Heller,  El  Weakley  and  J.  Huey.  The  convention  was  con- 
ducted two  days  at  the  Stevens  hotel  in  Chicago.  Sales  talks  on  coming 
sound  productions  were  also  features  of  the  meeting. 


Sono-Art  Productions  Headed 
By  Weeks;  Eddie  Dowling  Signs 

New  Company  to  Produce  Sound  Pictures  Starts  First  Picture  Early 
This  Month — Backed  by  National  Diversified 
Corporation — Uses  W.  E.  Equipment 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2. — George  W.  Weeks  is  vice  president  of  a  new  sound 
picture  producing  company  named  Sono-Art  Productions,  which  in  1929  will 
make  a  number  of  full  length  audiens  with  silent  versions,  the  first  going  into 
production  early  this  month  at  the  Metropolitan  Studios  in  Hollywood,  con- 
trolled by  the  Christie  Film  Company. 

Weeks,  film  pioneer,  Paramount  executive  and  formerly  general  manager  of 
distribution,  has  represented  the  Christies  in  the  East  for  the  last  year.  Inter- 
ested in  Sono-Art  and  officers  and  directors  are  O.  E.  Goebel,  Thomas  A.  Lynn, 
Charles  H.  Christie  and  Weeks.  The  company  will  have  the  financial  backing 
of  National  Diversified  Corporation,  which  comprises  representatives  of  some 
of  the  biggest  money  interests  in  the  country. 

Dr.  Conde  Pallen  and  Messrs.  Goebel  and  with  the  recording  of  the  Western  Electric 
Lynn  are  respectively,  president,  vice  president  Company  devices, 
and  secretary-treasurer  of  National  Diversi- 
fied. Goebel,  president  of  Sono-Art,  has  con- 
fined the  major  portion  of  his  time  to  motion 
pictures  since  1915  when  he  left  the  practice 
of  law  and  has  written  and  produced  a  num- 
ber of  successful  pictures  since  that  time. 

Lynn  was  long  identified  with  one  of  the 
leading  financial  institutions  of  this  country 
and  served  his  company  in  many  capacities, 
assisting  in  handling  a  field  force  of  20,000. 

Selection  of  Weeks  to  head  the  active 
management  of  Sono-Art  gives  that  com- 
pany an  executive  leadership  possessed  by 
few  motion  picture  organizations  as  his  15 
years'  experience  in  the  business  attests. 

Weeks  also  announced  that  Eddie  Dowl- 
ing, actor-playwright-producer,  had  signed 
with  Sono-Art  to  star  in  a  production  based 
on  his  own  story,  "Broadway  Bound." 

"The  new  medium  of  artistic  expression  Oscar  Hanson,  new  general  sales  manager, 

has    proved    so    absorbing    that    I    have  contributes  Iiis  "adieus"  to  George  Jessel 

dropped  my  stage  work  to  devote  all  my  us  the  latter  leaves  the  Tiffany-Staid  con- 

time  to  it,"  said  Dowling.  vention   for   his   matinee.     Shown  are 

Sono-Art  talking  pictures  will  be  produced         Hanson,  Jessel  and  President  -  A.  Younq. 


Hanson  Introduced 
To  His  Sales  Staff 
At  T-S  Convention 

Branch  managers  of  Tiffany-Stahl  met 
their  new  general  sales  manager,  Oscar 
Hanson,  at  a  convention  held  mainly  for 
this  purpose  at  the  Stevens  hotel  in  Chicago, 
December  28  and  29.  President  L.  A. 
Young,  Grant  L.  Cook,  secretary  and 
treasurer;  A.  L.  Selig,  advertising  and 
publicity  director;  Hanson  and  his  assistant, 
Carl  Goe,  were  those  from  the  home  office 
to  compose,  with  over  20  exchange  heads 
and  other  executives,  a  total  of  31  attending. 

The  company  is  now  negotiating  for  sites 
in  New  York,  Chicago  and  Philadelphia  on 
which  to  build  first-run  theatres,  according 
to  Cook,  who,  however,  declared  that  he 
could  give  out  no  further  information  on 
the  project  at  this  time. 

The  meetings,  which  were  presided  over 
by  Cook  and  Hanson,  included  a  showing 
of  "Lucky  Boy,"  regarded  as  "the  big  shot" 
in  the  line-up.  "Lucky  Boy,"  an  audien 
with  emphasis  on  the  singing  sequences, 
stars  George  Jessel,  star  of  the  original 
"Jazz  Singer"  on  the  stage. 

Physically  stocky  and  easy  of  manner, 
Hanson  is  typically  the  man  of  great  energy 
calmly  directed,  and  he  impressed  the  mem- 
bers of  his  slaff  as  such. 

Also  attending  the  convention  were  Abe 
Meyer,  assistant  to  Dr.  Hugo  Reisenfeld. 
noted  musical  director;  Rudolph  Flotow. 
manager  of  synchronization;  Curtis  Nagel 
of  Nagel  and  Brown,  producers  of  the  Color 
lassies;  Phil  Hazza,  Canadian  general 
anager ;  A.  H.  McLaughlin  and  William 
D.  Shapiro,  division  managers ;  and  Mannie 
Brown,  special  representative.  Exchange 
managers  attending  were: 

Eph  Rosen,  Chicago;  Phil  E.  Myers,  New  York 
L.  J.  Miller,  Minneapolis:  Charles  Weiner,  Cincin 
nati;  Carl  H.  Shalit,  Detroit;  H.  F.  Lefholtz,  Omaha 
S.  A.  Galanty,  Indianapolis;  Tom  Colby,  Atlanta 
J.  L.  Franconi,  Kansas  City;  R.  A.  Kelly,  New  Or 

ins;  Sterlin?  Wilson,  Albany;  Pete  Dana,  Buffalo 
J  t.  O'Tooli  Milwaukee;  H.  I.  Goldman,  Boston 
Allan  Monte,  Pittsburgh;  Harry  Brown.  Washington 
Al  Blofson,  Philadelphia;  Roy  Avey,  Oklahoma  City 
Ed  Hell'  r.  Chariette;  and  J.  Huey,  Dallas. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


31 


Film  News 
in  Pictures 


PICTORIAL  SECTION 


Stories  Told 
by  the  Camera 


Among  filmdom's  newlyweds — 
Creed  A.  Neeper,  general  sales 
manager  of  the  Harold  Lloyd  Cor- 
poration, producer  of  Harold  Lloyd 
feature  comedies  for  Paramount  re- 
lease. Neeper  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Vesey  in  New  York  Gty. 


Between  scenes,  which  is  to  say,  between  hair-raising 
rides  and  hairbreadth  escapes,  since  the  big  fellow  at 
center  is  Ken  Maynard,  First  National  Western  star. 
Harry  J.  Brown  (left)  is  his  supervising  director;  and 
Charles  R.  Rogers,  his  producer. 


Virginia  Bruce,  late  of  Fargo,  No. 
Dak.  But  now  of  Hollywood.  For 
William  Beaudine,  the  director, 
chancing  to  meet  her,  signed  her  to 
a  five-year  contract.  Virginia  is  18, 
blonde,  and  as  you  see,  very  pretty. 
And  lucky,  as  well. 


A  glad  time  in  store  for  them,  as  they  await  admittance  to  see  and 
hear  Al  Jolson  in  "The  Singing  Fool."  The  big  party  was  a  holi- 
day gift  of  Judge  Samuel  D.  Levey,  Edwin  M.  Hydeman  and  War- 
ner Brothers,  to  the  children  of  non-sectarian  institutions  in  New- 
York  City  and  environs. 


A  new  MGM  picture  of  the  South  Seas  has  taken  W.  S.  Van  Dyke 
(right),  director  of  "White  Shadows,"  to  Tahiti.  This  time  he  will 
make  "The  Pagan,"  starring  Ramon  Navarro  (left).  Renee  Adoree 
and  Dorothy  Janis  have  supporting  roles.  The  party  is  shown  tak- 
ing ship  from  San  Francisco. 


32 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


Warner  Brothers'  new  general  sales 
manager,  Claude  C.  Ezell,  former 
division  sales  manager  who  has  been 
appointed  successor  to  Sam  E.  Mor- 
ris upon  the  latter's  elevation  to  vice 
president  and  general  manager. 


David  Lee,  the  lad  millions  seeing  Warner  Brothers'  "The  Sing- 
ing Fool"  are  weeping  over.  But  was  there  more  fortunate 
youngster  than  he  shown  among  his  Christmas  toys?  A  few 
years  old,  and  fame  and  fortune  already  his,  thanks  to  Al  Jolson 
— and  to  Master  David  himself. 


Posed  for  the  love  of  "mike."  'Tis  fitting,  for  Anthony  J. 
Xydias,  president  of  Perfect  Talking  Pictures,  and  Ward  King, 
director  of  Telefilm  Pictures,  expect  much  from  the  micro- 
phone, having  begun  a  program  of  audien  shorts  and  features 
at  the  Telefilm  studio  in  Los  Angeles. 


Why  not  in  the  main  show?    For  the  present,  however,  all 
we  can  say  is  that  Sally  Eilers  appears  thus  costumed  in 
"The  Side  Show,"  Columbia  production  in  which  she  is 
starred,  with  Jason  Robarts  opposite. 


A  scene  from  real  life,  despite  its  resemblance  to  the  more 
familiar  source,  with  the  roles  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Murray- 
being  taken  by  the  M  G  M  featured  player  and  his  bride  of  a 
few  weeks. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


53 


Larry  Darmour.  producer  of  short 
subjects  for  F  B  O.  who  this  season 
has  added  the  "Racing  Blood" 
series  of  thrillers  to  the  "Mickey 
McGuire."  "Toots  and  Casper"  and 
"Barney  Google"  comedies. 


Named  governors  of  the  Warner  Club,  organization  of  amer 
Brothers  employes  in  New  York.  Seated.  Ruth  Weisberg.  Jack 
Gilbert  and  Anne  Goebel.  Standing.  Edgar  Wallach.  George 
O'Keefe.  Alex  McBeath.  Tom  Martin.  Joe  Hummel  and  Harry 
I.utjen.  Governors  not  shown  are  Ezra  Leavitt  and  Stanleigh 
Freidman. 


James  Hall,  Paramount  featured  player,  and  his  dad.  Clinton 
Brown,  who  recently  visited  his  son  in  Hollywood.  When 
James  was  13,  he  ran  away  from  home  because  his  father  op- 
posed his  theatrical  ambitions.  Now — well,  this  picture  might 
be  a  final  lade-out.  mightn't  it? 


Another  conference  broken  up  by  the  Herald-World  photog- 
rapher, whose  audacity  while  scouting  around  the  M  G  M 
studio  resulted  in  this  snap-shot  of  Director  George  Hill 
(right)  and  his  art  director,  Merrill  Pye. 


Varied  are  her  new  roles,    Kathryn  McGuire  is  featured 
bv  First  National  in  Colleen  Moore's  "Svnthetic  Sin"  and 
Mulhall-Mackaill's  "Children  of  the  Ritz,"  and  by  F  B  O 
in  Tom  Mix's,  "The  Dude  Ranch." 


34 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


First  Seven  World  Wide  Pictures 
Qo  to  Exhibitor  This  Month 

Come  from  Seven  Foreign  Nations  and  Were  Made  in  Exact  Locales 
Called  for  in  Stories,  Says  Williams 
By  PETER  VISCHER 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2. — The  first  product  imported  by  World  Wide  Pic- 
tures, Inc.,  a  series  of  seven  photoplays  made  overseas,  will  be  distrib- 
uted to  the  American  market  this  month.  Thus  the  new  company 
organized  by  J.  D.  Williams,  who  enjoys  an  international  reputation  in  the 
film  industry,  makes  its  bow  to  the  American  public. 


"""PHE  first  seven  pictures  to  be  released 
*■  bear  witness  to  the  extraordinary  ver- 
satility of  the  World  Wide  product.  They 
come  from  England,  France,  Russia,  Poland, 
Egypt  and  Italy.  The  pictures  were  made 
on  the  exact  locations  called  for  by  the 
stories,  directors  and  principals  and  en- 
gaged natives  shooting  all  scenes  in  their 
true  atmosphere.  Herein,  Williams  believes, 
lies  the  reason  for  the  new  company. 
Only  Organization  of  Kind 

World  Wide  Pictures  is  the  only  organi- 
zation of  its  kind  in  America  specializing  in 
imported  photoplays.  Leading  officers  be- 
sides Williams,  organizer  and  for  six  years 
general  manager  of  First  National  Pictures, 
who  is  executive  vice  president  of  World 
Wide,  are  Alexander  S.  Aronson,  for  five 
years  general  foreign  representative  of 
M  G  M,  associate  to  Williams  and  general 
foreign  representative  with  headquarters  in 
Europe;  Joseph  S.  Skirboll,  formerly  dis- 
tribution executive  in  the  United  States  and 
foreign  representative  for  First  National 
Pictures,  sales  manager. 

The  company  will  distribute  physically 
through  Educational  Exchanges,  but  will 
maintain  its  own  sales  and  advertising  staff. 
Instead  of  selling  in  block,  exhibitors  can 
have  each  picture  screened  and  buy  one  or 
all,  as  they  like,  it  is  announced. 

Passed  Upon  by  Board 

All  pictures  selected  by  Aronson  abroad 
are  passed  upon  by  a  board  of  review  in 
the  New  York  office.  This  board  consists 
of  men  and  women  both  in  and  out  of  the 
industry.  The  company  has  made  contracts 
with  British  International  Pictures,  Ltd., 
largest  English  producing  company  with 
studios  at  Elstree;  UFA,  the  largest  Ger- 
man company  with  studios  in  Berlin,  and 
British  Dominions,  Ltd.,  whose  studios  are 
at  Cricklewood.  French,  Austrian  and  Ital- 
ian contracts  are  pending. 

Active  distribution  will  start  January  15. 


It  is  understood  that  Gilda  Gray  has  just 
made  a  picture  in  London  and  that  Pauline 
Frederick  has  recently  completed  one  in 
France  which  are  to  be  brought  here  by 
World  Wide  Pictures  at  a  later  date. 

In  the  first  series  of  pictures  to  be  re- 
leased this  month  are: 

"Moulin  Rouge,"  starring  Olga  Chekova,  directed 
by  E.  A.  Dupont,  produced  by  British  International 
Pictures,  in  Paris  with  the  principals  and  entire 
beauty  ballet  of  the  "New  York-Paris  Revue"  and 
photographed  in  the  Moulin  Rouge. 

"A  Woman  in  the  Night,"  starring  Maria  Corda, 
from  the  daring  novel  by  the  Baroness  Oreczy,  di- 
rected by  Victor  Saville,  produced  by  British  Inter- 
national Pictures  in  Scotland. 

"The  Bondman,"  starring  Norman  Kerry,  from  the 
famous  novel  by  Sir  Hall  Caine,  directed  by  Her- 
bert Wilcox,  produced  by  British  &  Dominions  Film 
Corporation,  Ltd.,  in  Sicily  and  on  the  Isle  of  Man. 

"Tommy  Atkins"  with  Walter  Byron,  from  the 
stage  play  by  Ben  Landeck  and  Arthur  Shirley, 
directed  by  Captain  Norman  Walker  with  the  co- 
operation of  the  English  War  Office,  produced  by 
British  International  Pictures  in  London  and  the 
Egyptian  Soudan. 

"The  Woman  In  White,"  starring  Blanche  Sweet, 
directed  by  Herbert  Wilcox,  from  the  great  mystery 
novel  by  Wilkie  Collins  and  made  in  Scotland. 

"A  Honeymoon  Abroad,"  with  Monty  Banks  and 
Gillian  Deane,  directed  by  Tim  Whelan,  formerly 
with  Harold  Lloyd,  produced  by  British  International 
Pictures  in  London  and  Paris. 

"Pawns  of  Passion,"  starring  Olga  Chekova,  di- 
rected by  Carmine  Gallone  and  produced  in  the 
Montmartre  section  of  Paris  and  in  Poland  and 
Russia. 

"We  will  only  import  those  pictures  which 
are  found  to  have  quality,  novelty,  unusual 
stories  and  characters;  authentic  and  beau- 
tiful locations  and  scenic  backgrounds," 
Williams  said. 


Manager  Resigns  Position 

(Special  to  the  Herald- World) 
ST.  LOUIS,  Jan.  2.— James  P.  Brennan, 
manager  of  the  Grand  Opera  House  for  the 
past  five  years,  has  resigned  and  has  been 
succeeded  by  R.  F.  Quinby,  former  Chicago 
theatre  manager. 


Wizards  of  World  Wide 


At  the  New  York 
Theatres 


NEW  FILMS 

PARAMOUNT— "The  Shopworn  Angel,"  a  Para- 
mount picture  with  Nancy  Caroll. 

CAPITOL — "West  of  Zanzibar,"  a  Metro-Goldwyn- 
Mayer  picture  with  Lon  Chaney  and  Mary  Nolan. 

STRAND — "Scarlet  Seas,"  a  First  National  picture 
with  Richard  Barthelmess  and  Loretta  Young. 

FIFTY-FIFTH  ST.  CINEMA— "When  Duty  Calls," 
a  UFA  film  with  Rudolf  Pittner  and  Olga 
Tschechova. 

HIPPODROME— "Restless  Youth,"  a  Columbia  pic- 
ture with  Ralph  Forbes  and  Marceline  Day. 

HELD  OVER  AND  REVIVED 

WINTER  GARDEN— "The  Singing  Fool,"  Warner 

Bros.,  opened  September  19. 
ASTOR — "Alias  Jimmie  Valentine,"  Metro-Goldwyn- 

Mayer,  opened  November  15. 
CRITERION — "Interference,"     Paramount,  opened 

November  16. 

EMBASSY— "The    Viking,"  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 

opened  November  28. 
CENTRAL— "The   Barker,"   First   National,  opened 

December  5. 

WARNER — "My  Man,"  Warner  Bros.,  opened  De- 
cember 21. 

GAIETY — "The  River,"  Fox,  opened  December  22. 

LITTLE  CARNEGIE  PLAYHOUSE  —  "Lucretia 
Borgia,"  UFA,  opened  December  22. 

COLONY — "Give  and  Take,"  Universal,  opened  De- 
cember 22. 

RIVOLI — "The  Awakening,"  United  Artists,  opened 

December  28. 

RIALTO — "Abie's  Irish  Rose,"  Paramount,  revived 
December  22. 

CAMEO — "Ten  Days  that  Shook  the  World,"  revived 

for  another  week. 
ROXY— "Prep  and  Pep,"  Fox,  held  over  for  another 

week. 

FIFTH  AVENUE  PLAYHOUSE— "Gow  the  Head 
Hunter,"  held  over  for  another  week. 


Pinanski,  Lourie  Honored 
By  Employes  at  Dinner 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
BOSTON,  Jan.  2— Samuel  Pinanski  and 
Jacob  Lourie,  respectively  president  and  treas- 
urer of  the  New  England  Theatres  Operat- 
ing Corporation,  were  honored  by  employes 
of  the  company  at  a  dinner. 

Melophone  Office  Opens 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
SEATTLE,  Jan.  2. — George  Endert, 
former  Paramount  manager  and  William 
Drummond,  film  representative,  are  heading 
the  newly  organized  Melophone  Talking 
Pictures  Company  of  America,  with  head- 
quarters in  the  Security  Bldg.  They  have 
already  supplied  a  number  of  the  smaller 
houses  with  this  new  equipment. 


Named  Managing  Director 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

INDIANAPOLIS,  IND.,  Jan.  2.— The 
Fourth  Avenue  Amusement  Company  ap- 
pointed Don  L.  Hammer  managing  director 
of  the  company's  four  theatres  in  Lafayette, 
the  Mars,  Luna,  Family  and  Lyric. 


Lou  Goldberg  Given  Dinner 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2.  —  Lou  Goldberg, 
general  manager  of  the  M&S  circuit  of 
New  York  theatres,  was  given  a  banquet  by 
the   managers  of  the   M&S   circuit  last 

week. 


J.  D.  WILLIAMS 


A  "  *ONSON 


J.  S.  SKIRBOLL 


Ritz  Installs  Biophone 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
INDIANA,  PA., Jan. 2.— The  Ritz  theatre 
inaugurated  a  new  policy  in  their  theatre 
when  it  opened  New  Years  day  with  Bio- 
phone. 

Named  U  A  Manager 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK  Jan.  2.— Charles  O'Connell 
succeeds  L.  Hobson  as  manager  of  the  United 
Artists  exchange  in  Denver. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


35 


J  Do  You  Remember  J 


Photophone,  Electrical  Research 
Elected  Members  of  Hays  Body 

Addition  of  Leading  Factors  in  Sound  Picture  Field  Means  Audiens 
Will  Be  Guided  by  Same  Cooperative  Policies  as  Silent 
Films,  Says  M  P  P  D  A  Statement 

(Special  to  the  He  raid-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2. — A  special  meeting  of  the  Motion  Picture  Producers 
and  Distributors  of  America,  Inc.,  held  here  last  Thursday,  brought  new  and 
substantial  figures  into  the  organization.  The  event  was  signalized  by  gratify- 
ing remarks  on  the  part  of  Will  H.  Hays,  president  of  the  organization,  and 
those  honored  with  election. 

RCA  Photophone.  Inc.,  and  Electrical  Research  Products,  Inc.,  sound 
apparatus  manufacturer  of  Western  Electric,  became  member  units  of  the 
MPPD  A. 


The  old  "101  Bison"  westerns  of  fifteen 
or  more  years  ago,  that  most  always  had 
a  big  Indian  fight  for  the  climax? 

The  old  cartoons  which  usually  con- 
sisted of  a  half  reel,  and  the  other  half 
reel  was  a  socalled  comedy?  The  old 
cartoons  were  shown  as  drawn  by  the 
cartoonist,  his  hand  and  pen  seen  in  one 
corner  of  the  picture. 

When  the  director  desired  the  villain 
to  produce  a  thrill  all  that  was  necessary 
was  for  the  villain  to  carelessly  cast  a 
cigaret  near  some  lace  curtains  of  a  shack 
and  there  was  thus  produced  an  excellent 
opportunity  for  the  hero  to  get  there  just 
in  time  for  the  heroine's  rescue.  Youll 
remember  this  used  to  be  the  director** 
favorite  stunt. 

And  don't  forget  the  past's  favorite 
blood  curdling  vampire — Theda  Bara,  nor 
Bebe  Daniels  in  the  one-reel  comedies 
with  the  goof  with  the  walrus  mustache — 
Snub  Pollard. 

[You  are  invited  to  send  in  your  own  "Do 
You  Remember.'"  Those  above  were  con- 
tributed by  H.  C.  Mauler.  Liberty  Thea- 
tre, Pleasonton,  7s(eb.] 

Moran  and  Mack  Signed 
For  Paramount  Audiens 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2—  Moran  and  Mack, 
known  as  "The  Two  Black  Crows,"  have 
been  signed  by  Paramount  to  make  two  fea- 
ture length  talking  pictures  at  Hollywood 
studios. 

.  Thomas  Jefferson,  son  of  the  famous  Jo- 
seph Jefferson,  creator  of  the  stage  concep- 
tion of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  was  signed 
yesterday  by  Paramount  for  an  important 
supporting  role  in  the  Paramount  Special 
Production  with  Charles  Rogers  and  Nancy 
Carroll  titled,  "Close  Harmony." 

Flames  Cost  $200,000; 

Projectionist  Injured 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOT  SPRINGS,  ARK.,  Jan.  2.— A  fire 
which  started  in  the  projection  room  of  the 
Lyric  theatre  did  $200,000  damage.  The 
three-story  brick  building  contained  the 
theatre,  a  rooming  house  on  the  third  floor 
and  several  stores  on  the  ground  floor.  Rus- 
sell Phillips,  projectionist,  suffered  severe 
burns.  All  in  the  audience  were  led  out  in 
safety. 

Bill  Cody  Signs  for  Two 
British  World's  Audiens 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2— Bill  Cody,  West- 
ern star,  has  signed  with  Edward  Churchill 
of  British  World's  Films,  Ltd.,  for  two  talk- 
ing pictures  to  be  completed  on  Canadian 
soil. 


Fire  Destroys  Theatre 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
WEST  MONROE,  LA.,  Jan.  2.— Fire  of 
an  unknown  origin  destroyed,  among  other 
structures,  the  Crystal  theatre  building, 
with  an  almost  total  loss  to  machines  and 
other  property.  The  theatre  will  be  rebuilt 
and  enlarged  at  the  earliest  possible  date. 


DeMille  Moves  Into  New  Bungalow 

CULVER  CITY— Cecil  DeMille  moved  into  his 
new  bungalow  in  Culver  City.  The  new  house  is 
built  on  a  Spanish  style  and  will  contain  many  of 
the  DeMille  collections. 


The  following  statement  regarding  the 
election  was  made: 

"R  C  A  Photophone,  Inc.,  the  subsidiary 
of  the  Radio  Corporation  of  America  en- 
gaged in  the  commercial  development  of  de- 
vices for  the  recording  and  reproduction 
of  sound  pictures,  and  in  the  production  of 
talking  motion  pictures  with  the  view  of 
further  developing  and  improving  the  tech- 
nical side  of  such  pictures,  joined  the  Mo- 
tion Picture  Producers  and  Distributors  of 
America,  Inc.,  of  which  Will  H.  Hays  is 
president. 

Otterson  Elected  Member 

"John  E.  Otterson,  president  of  Electrical 
Research  Products,  Inc.,  which  is  the 
manufacturer  of  the  synchronizing  process 
of  the  Western  Electric  Company,  was  also 
elected  a  member. 

"The  two  members  were  admitted  at  a 
special  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors. 
David  Sarnoff,  president  of  RCA  Photo- 
phone, Inc.,  was  elected  to  the  board. 
Changes  in  the  board  were  made  by  the 
election  of  Harry  M.  Warner,  representing 
Warner  Bros.  Pictures,  Inc.,  and  Vitagraph, 
Inc.,  and  Albert  Warner,  representing  First 
National  Pictures,  Inc.;  also  Hiram  _  S. 
Brown  was  elected  a  director,  representing 
F  B  O  Pictures  Corp. 

"The  addition  of  these  leading  fac- 
tors in  the  sound  picture  field,  RCA 
Photophone  and  the  Western  Electric 
subsidiary,  means  that  talking  pictures 
will  be  guided  by  the  same  coopera- 
tive policies  that  have  accompanied 
the  growth  of  silent  pictures  since  the 


Hands  Out  Tickets  to 
Passersby  for  Drawing 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  ORLEANS,  Dec.  26.— A  new 
way  to  conduct  prize  drawings  for 
the  benefit  of  the  patrons  has  been 
discovered  by  R.  J.  Brunet,  manager 
of  the  Imperial  theatre.  Brunet's 
method  was  declared  lawful  by  Dis- 
trict Attorney  Stanley  in  a  letter  to 
the  superintendent  of  police. 

An  employe  stationed  in  front  of 
the  theatre  hands  out  numbered  tick- 
ets to  passersby,  regardless  of 
whether  they  attend  the  show  or  not. 
Later  a  drawing  is  held.  To  consti- 
tute a  lottery,  the  district  attorney 
says,  there  must  be  present  simulta- 
neously a  consideration,  a  prize  and 
a  chance.  In  Brunet's  case  the  giv- 
ing of  a  ticket  to  anyone,  whether  he 
or  she  pays  for  admission  or  not, 
eliminates  the  element  of  considera- 
tion, it  m  held. 


formation  of  the  Motion  Picture  Pro- 
ducers and  Distributors  of  America, 
Inc. 

"David  Sarnoff,  president  of  RCA  Pho- 
tophone, Inc.,  said: 

"  'After  analyzing  the  great  possibilities, 
present  and  future,  of  the  motion  picture 
industry,  I  believe  that  the  work  of  the 
Motion  Picture  Producers  and  Distributors 
of  America,  Inc.,  under  the  leadership  of 
Mr.  Will  H.  Hays,  and  their  efforts  to 
maintain  and  improve  the  standards  of  the 
business,  have  resulted  in  important  con- 
tributions to  the  public,  as  well  as  to  the 
industry  itself.  RCA  Photophone  joins  this 
association  with  the  hope  of  being  able  to 
assist  in  the  program  of  the  latter  for  bet- 
ter pictures  and  a  greater  industry.' 

Effective  Work,  Says  Otterson 

"John  E.  Otterson,  president  of  Electrica 
Research  Products,  Inc.,  said: 

"  T  have  been  pleased  to  affiliate  with  the 
organized  industry.  The  association  has 
been  doing  most  effective  and  constructive 
work,  and  in  this  effort  it  is  my  pleasure 
to  participate.' 

"In  referring  to  the  matter,  Will  Hays 
said: 

"  'The  organized  industry  is  pleased,  of 
course,  with  the  affiliation  of  these  two  new 
and  strong  units  with  our  association's  ef- 
forts. They  represent  very  large  interests 
in  the  new  phases  of  the  motion  picture 
industry,  and  their  ability  and  constructive 
advice  and  cooperation  will  be  most  helpful 
in  solving  the  problems  of  the  industry  and 
in  the  further  development  of  its  largest 
usefulness.' 

Constant  Cooperation 

"The  purposes  of  the  Motion  Picture 
Producers  and  Distributors  of  America, 
Inc.,  quoted  from  its  articles  of  incorpora- 
tion, are:  'Establishing  and  maintaining  the 
highest  possible  moral  and  artistic  stand- 
ards of  motion  picture  production,  and 
developing  the  educational  as  well  as  the  en- 
tertainment value  and  the  general  useful- 
ness of  the  motion  picture.' 

"The  program  of  the  association  has  in- 
cluded constant  cooperation  with  respon- 
sible religious,  civic  and  educational  groups 
to  the  end  that  the  highest  possible  stand- 
ards of  motion  pictures  may  be  assured  at 
the  source  of  production." 


Henry  Hobart  Appointed 
To  Supervise  F  B  O  Studios 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2.— Henry  Hobart, 
who  has  been  connected  with  Richard 
Barthelmess's  First  National  pictures  for  a 
number  of  years  has  been  signed  as  a 
production  supervisor  for  F  B  O  Studios. 


36 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


SOUND  PICTURES 


Bucher  Sees  Great  Progress  in  1929  with 
New  Photophone  Studios 


NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2.— A  particularly 
optimistic  statement  on  the  future 
of  sound  pictures  was  issued  by  E.  E. 
Bucher,  executive  vice-president  of  R  C 
A  Photophone  to  herald  the  New  Year. 
Not  only  did  he  expect  further  progress 
in  the  making  of  sound  pictures,  but  he 
announced  January  15  as  the  date  for 
the  completion  of  the  new  RCA  studios 
in  New  York,  the  Gramercy  Studio  and 
Gramercy  Annex. 

Bucher's  statement  follows: 
"R  A  C  Photophone,  Inc.,  stands  at  the 
threshhold  of  the  new  year  with  every  con- 
fidence that  the  next  twelve  months  will 
witness  steady  growth  and  development  in 
the  new  art  of  sound-motion  pictures.  Al- 
though RCA  Photophone,  Inc.  began  com- 
mercial operations  only  in  1928,  when  the 
company  was  established,  its  present  sys- 
tem of  recording  and  reproducing  sound 

TUESDAY  rol'RIER-EXPRES 


191,943  have  seen  Al  .  .  . 


nee  VTlie  Sinpins  Fool" 
opeutHl  at  the  GrvHt  Lakes  thea 
t-r.  191.943  pepiftns  have  paid 
dmi*vU}n  io  see  A I  JoIkoii — 
nt)  not  one  but   prattled  In* 
grvotteal  pictnre    Surely  »  rec- 
I    There'*  still  ."> ttays  left  to 
■  him  and   Ins  wife,  on  llic 

me  Kerecii  program! 


HEAR 


JOLSON 

in 

"The  Singing  Fool" 

Opening  Saturday 


MOTHER  MACHREE' 


GREAT  LAKES 

 THEATER  


Note,  the  effective  use  of  white  space 
in  this  ad  of  H.  M.  Addison  of  the  Great 
Lakes  theatre,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

pictures  represents  nine  years  of  experi- 
mental and  research  work  in  the  laboratories 
of  the  pincipal  factors  in  the  radio  and  elec- 
trical industries  of  the  United  States.  The 
new  technique  of  sound  recording  and 
sound  reproduction  thus  developed  made 
possible  a  revolutionary  system  of  record- 
ing sound  on  films  as  well  as  discs  and 
reproducing  therefrom.  This  system  is  now 
available  through  RCA  Photophone,  Inc., 
to  producers  and  exhibitors  throughout  the 
nation. 

At  the  present  time  RCA  Photo- 
phone sound  reproducing  equipment 
is  installed  in  many  leading  theatres 
in  the  United  States.  It  is  aimed  dur- 
ing 1929  to  make  2,000  additional  in- 
stallations of  the  same  character. 
The  same  installations  already  made  have 
been  hailed  by  musical  and  dramatic  authori- 
ties, as  well  as  by  engineers  and  acoustical 
experts,  as  marking  a  new  standard  of  re- 
production in  sound-motion  pictures. 

"Beyond  the  quality  of  reproduction 
striking  advantage,  perhaps,  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  exhibitor,  is  the  simplicity  of 
operation.  So  thoroughly  standardized  is 
RCA  Photophone  equipment  that  it  is 
possible  to  train  in  a  period  of  six  weeks 
new  personnel  to  operate  the  system.  Simil- 
arly in  the  recording  of  sound  motion  pic- 
tures. Under  entirely  normal  conditions  it 
is  rarely  necessary  to  retake  a  sound  re- 
cording by  the  RCA  Photophone  system. 
Generally  a  single  shot  is  satisfactory.  To 
motion  picture  producers  this  means  a  sav- 
ing of  thousands  of  dollars  in  production 
expenses. 

New  8  Radios  Ready  Soon 
"In  the  sphere  of  sound-motion  picture 
production,  it  is  significant  to  note  that 
some  of  the  most  successful  pictures  of  the 
present  season  have  been  recorded  by  the 
RCA  Photophone  system.  Contracts  for 
the  production  of  sound  pictures  already 
have  been  signed  with  various  motion  pic- 
ture producers,  and  other  contracts  await 
the  completion  of  new  sound  motion  pic- 
ture studios,  which  RCA  Photophone  ex- 
pects to  have  ready  for  production  early 
in  1929. 

"The  Gramercy  Studio  and  the  Gramercy 
Annex  will  be  completed  in  New  York  by 
Photophone  and  they  will  have  facilities 
second  to  none  for  the  recording  of  ordinary 
films  as  well  as  of  elaborate  feature  pictures. 
The  new  studio  of  R  C  A  Photophone,  Inc. 
is  being  built  up  on  a  scale  great  enough 
to  record  feature  stage  productions.  It 
will  be  equipped  with  the  latest  technical 
devices  for  the  making  of  sound  pictures. 
In  addition,  there  will  be  facilities  for  re- 
search and  experiment  in  the  many  new 
problems  which  the  art  of  talking  motion 
pictures  constantly  presents. 

"With  ample  studio  equiprrcnt  reflecting 


the  latest  developments  of  the  art,  RCA 
Photophone,  Inc.  in  1929  will  embark  upon 
a  forward-looking  program  in  this  field. 
This  program  will  cover  among  other  ac- 
tivities: 

"(1)  The  equipment  of  theatres  through- 
out the  country  with  the  RCA  Photo- 
phone system  of  sound  reproduction; 
"(2)  The  maintenance  of  studio  facilities 
for  the  recording  of  sound  motion  pictures, 
from  newsreels  and  shorts  to  the  most 
elaborate  feature  productions,  to  be  made 
available  to  motion  picture  producers; 
"(3)  The  development  of  a  series  of  im- 
portant educational  films  of  a  new  charac- 
ter through  the  RCA  Photophone  sys- 
tem of  synchronizing  sound  and  action  on 
the  film; 

"(4)  The  production  of  high-class  sound 
pictures  by  RCA  Photophone,  Inc.,  with 
the  view  of  introducing  various  new  ele- 
ments being  developed  in  sound  technique. 

Briefly,  RCA  Photophone  plans  for  1929 
call  for  steady  progress  in  every  phase  of 
the  sound-motion  picture  industry,  in  the 
development  of  which  we  believe  the  radio 
and  electrical  industries  of  the  United 
States  can  contribute  greatly." 


A  flock  of  small  airplanes  flying  beneath 
the  marquee  was  stationed  by  Bernard 
Thomas,  manager  of  Loew's  Vendome 
theatre  at  Nashville,  to  herald  the  ap- 
pearance of  Colleen  Moore's  "Lilac 
Time."  First  National  production.  Note 
also  how  the  midnight  election  show^was 
bulletined. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


37 


EMBARRASSING  MOMENTS 

\Then  you  meet  vour  prospective 
In-Laws  .  .  .  for  the  first  time  .  .  . 
be  nonchalant  .  .  .  Light  a  Murad. 

Q  p.  LorUUrd  Co..  Est.  17(0  Th*-\  taste  just  like  they  did  20  years  ago 


New  Xydias  Sound 
Company  Launches 
Production  in  West 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  2.  —  Anthony  J. 
Xydias,  head  of  the  newly  organized  Perfect 
Talking  Pictures  Corporation,  has  leased 
the  Charles  Ray  studio  on  Sunset  Drive  and 
has  started  production  of  an  announced 
series  of  24  one-reel  sound  comedies  and 
novelties,  to  be  followed  by  two-reel  and 
long  features.  The  product,  to  be  called 
Filmotone,  will  use  a  device  which  is  said 
to  be  on  a  cost  scale  for  the  smallest  thea- 
tres, and  the  productions  can  be  played  on 
other  disc  systems. 

The  first  production  unit  was  directed 
by  Ward  Wing  under  the  title,  "We're  in 
Vaudeville  Now."  In  the  cast  are  Fred 
Warren,  Harry  Todd,  Lori  Bara,  Hazel 
Howell  and  Jack  Raymond. 

"Within  sixty  days  any  and  all  exhibitors 
can  get  all  the  talking  pictures — one-reelers, 
two-reelers  and  full-length  features — they 
want  from  our  company,"  Xydias  said,  "and 
we  will  be  able  to  supply  them  with  a  de- 
vice any  exhibitor  can  afford." 


Paramount  Starts 
Ne  wspaper  Ca  m pa  ign 
In  400  Key  Cities 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2.— Paramount  in- 
augurated a  national  newspaper  advertising 
campaign  this  week  to  aid  the  exhibitors 
who  will  play  Paramount  audien  pictures. 
The  announcement  will  be  printed  in  700 
newspapers  in  400  key  cities  and  is 
estimated  that  100,000,000  will  read  it. 

Sol  Lesser  on  West  Coast 
To  Build  $500,000  Studio 
For  Netv  Producing  Firm 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

LOS  ANGELES,  Jan.  2. — Sol  Lesser  is 
here  to  superintend  construction  of  a  $300,- 
000  soundproof  studio  in  the  San  Fernando 
Valley  for  the  newly  formed  Lesser-Warner 
Producing  Corporation,  of  which  he  is 
president.  Franklyn  Warner  is  vice  presi- 
dent, Richard  F.  Bailey,  secretary,  and  Mike 
Rosenberg,  treasurer.  The  Sonora-Bristol- 
phone  recording  and  sound  device  will  be 
used. 

There  will  also  be  a  studio  in  New  York, 
supervised  by  Rosenberg,  who  will  be  chief 
of  eastern  operations.  Offices  are  at  1776 
Broadway  in  New  York  and  in  the  Pacific 
Finance  Building  at  621  South  Hope  street, 
Los  Angeles.  A  number  of  Broadway  stage 
stars  are  to  be  signed,  Lesser  said,  and  the 
New  York  studio  will  save  them  the  long 
trip  to  the  West  Coast  while  they  are  ap- 
pearing in  stage  plays. 

Lesser  also  plans  to  manufacture  and 
market  an  audien  outfit  for  home  use  and  to 
launch  "picturized"  religious  entertainment 
for  churches. 


Sonora-Bristol phone  Hour 

Given  Wednesdays  on  WGBS 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2.— A  weekly  Sonora- 
Bristolphone  Hour  over  WGBS  was  launched 
for  Wednesdays  by  arrangement  of  Mike  Sim- 
mons. A  triologue,  with  Ernest  Maas.  pro- 
duction supervisor,  and  Fredericka  Sagor, 
scenarist,  is  the  initial  offering. 


Device  Makes  Visual 

Record  of  Wavelength 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  Jan.  2— A  demon- 
stration was  made  this  week  of  a  new  audien 
device  said  to  make  use  of  a  different 
medium  for  recording  than  any  of  the  devices 
now  in  commercial  use.  The  mechanism  is 
the  invention  of  Carl  Rhodenhamel.  The  de- 
vice not  only  plays  back  the  sound  but  likewise 
creates  a  visual  record  of  the  sound  wave- 
lengths. 

It  is  planned  to  make  use  of  the  new  device 
for  analyzing  voices  of  stars  and  for  training 
voices. 


Paramount  Barnes  Cozaine 

Eastern  Stage  Manager 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2— Arthur  Cozaine, 
location  manager  for  Paramount  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  was  appointed  stage  manager 
of  the  Long  Island  studio.  Cozaine  will 
work  under  David  J.  Sarecky,  who  has  been 
in  charge  of  the  stages  and  in  addition  to 
looking  out  for  t.ie  general  maintenance  of 
the  studio. 


DeForest  Phonofilm 
Install  Two  Machines 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2.— Two  DeForest 
Phonofilm  machines  were  installed  in  thea- 
tres last  week.  The  Plaza  theatre  in  Cleve- 
land was  equipped  with  a  machine  and  the 
Tivoli  in  Brooklyn  was  being  equipped. 

Two  more  DeForest  distributing  offices 
were  opened.  J.  K  Adams  has  established 
headquarters  in  Boston  and  will  distribute 
the  machines  in  Massachusetts,  Maine, 
New  Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  Vermont 
and  Connecticut.  Joseph  Klein  opened 
office  in  Philadelphia  and  will  distribute 
DeForest  machines  in  Philadelphia,  south- 
ern New  Jersey,  Delaware,  District  of  Co- 
lumbia and  Virginia. 


New  Sound  Film  Reel 

A  new  Sound  Film  Reel  for  exhibitors, 
using  sound-film  equipment,  has  been  placed 
on  th£  market  by  National  Theatre  Supply 
Company.  An  improved  5  inch  hub  is  de- 
signed to  prevent  the  film  from  passing  the 
aperture  plate  at  too  great,  or  at  an  uneven, 
speed. 


38 


XHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


SOUND  PROOF 
PARTITIONS  and  DOORS 


For  Movie-Talkies, 
Studios  and  Thea- 
tres. 

HAMLIN'S  sound 
tight  doors  and 
folding  partitions 
have  proved  their 
efficiency  in  hun- 
dreds of  installa- 
tions in  Broadcast- 
ing Stations,  Hos- 
pitals, Schools  of 
Music,  Libraries 
and  Office  Build- 
ings. Also  such 
companies  as 
Metro  -  Goldwyn, 
Radiophone, 
Famous  Players, 
have  been 
equipped. 


Sand  your  tpeelfi- 
cations  or  writ*  for 
catalog 


IRVING  HAMLIN 

M  atinfaetmrmr* 

2406  Jackson  Ave.,  Evanston,  III. 


SOUND 

EFFECT 

RECORDS 


$100 


EACH 

F.   O.   B.  Omaha 


Set  contains  more  than  30  different 
effects,  such  as  Airplanes,  Gunshots, 
Passenger  and  Freight  Trains,  Fire 
Engines,  Gongs,  Auto  Horns,  Sirens, 
etc.,  making 

Sound  pictures  a  reality  for  the 
small  theatre  who  owns  a  double 
turntable  outfit.  Here's 
opportunity. 


your 


Don't  Wait  $  1  00 
Order  Today/    1  = 


Per 
Record 


Writ, 


EXHIBITORS  RECORD 
SERVICE  COMPANY 

Room  No.  1,  Film  Bldg.,  Omaha,  Neb. 

Everything   Shipped   C.   O,   D.  Insured 


F  N's  Aids  to  B.  O.  on  Sound 


x  mm 


A  3mt  riaho»ol  lolkow  Pictmm 


Here  are  17  different  sound  slugs  prepared  by  First  National  to  be  used  by  the  exhibi- 
tor to  snipe  in  his  newspaper  ad  copy.  They  are  designed  for  both  the  talking  and 
sound  pictures  and  are  small  enough  to  allow  the  exhibitor  to  place  them  in  his  copy 
without  taking  up  too  much  space. 


This  view  of  a  24-sheet  stand  shows  how  the  special  "talking"  one-sheet  (lower  right 
hand  corner)  may  be  sniped  on  the  24-sheet  without  in  any  way  spoiling  the  poster, 
yet  having  the  poster  just  as  effective  for  the  silent  version.  Below:  These  lobby 
streamers  can  be  adjusted  to  read  either  "Our  Screen  Speaks"  or  "Our  Screen  Sings" 
by  detarhing  either  "Speaks"  or  "Sings"  from  the  string. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


39 


GUARANTEED  PERFECT  EQUIPMENT  FOR 

TALKING  PICTURES 

AT  LOW  COST 


HERE  ARE  SOME  FACTS 

Dear  Mr.  Exhibitor : — 

HERE  IS  WHAT  YOU'VE  BEEN  WAITING  FOR— 
Reasonably  priced  high  grade  devices  for  your  booth  that  will 
enable  you  to  play  genuine  talking  pictures — WE  HAVE  THEM 
and  hundreds  of  wise  exhibitors  are  already  reaping  profits — Our 
recent  installations  have  included  circuits  who  have  previouly  in- 
stalled high  priced  and  elaborate  equipment  in  other  of  their  theatres 
and  have  now  switched  to  ours — WHY?  Because  we  guarantee 
and  produce  the  same  results  at  a  fraction  of  the  cost. 

We  guarantee  that  our  machines  do  not  infringe  on  the  patents 
of  any  other  machine,  our  equipments  are  licensed  and  covered  by 
separate  patents,  and  furthermore,  do  not  develop  the  hundred  and 
one  troubles  usually  found  in  machines  of  more  complicated  design. 

One  operator  can  easily  handle  our  units,  can  make  his  own  ad- 
justments and  you  don't  need  to  tear  out  booth  walls  to  get  our 
equipment  into  it. 

And  as  to  producers  furnishing  pictures,  we  are  pleased  to  say 
that  every  exhibitor  who  has  installed  our  machines  is  getting  all 
the  talking  and  synchronized  pictures  he  desires — our  machines 
are  approved  because  they  are  RIGHT  and  deliver  perfect  syn- 
chronization and  tone  and  we  will  back  that  statement  up  with 
results  on  your  own  screen. 

You'll  be  sorry  if  you  don't  install  MOVIE-PHONE,  it's  posi- 
tively the  only  LOW  PRICED  HIGH  GRADE  APPARATUS 
ON  THE  MARKET  TODAY— THAT  GIVES  THE  RE- 
SULTS DEMANDED  BY  THE  PUBLIC  AND  PRO- 
DUCERS, and  at  the  same  time  possesses  every  advantage  that  you 
require  in  the  way  of  price,  operation  and  ease  of  installation. 


Complete  installation  for  two  machines  in  your  booth  for  as 
low  as  $1,000.00.  Results  guaranteed  to  be  the  equal  of  any  talk- 
ing equipment  on  the  market.  And  our  equipment  is  sold  at  a 
fraction  of  the  cost  of  any  others.  INVESTIGATE! 


MOVIE-PHONE  CORP. 

724  So.  Wabash  Ave.,  Chicago,  III. 


40 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


Aladdin  at  United  Artists  Studio 


Recording  room.    The  sound  theatre  occupies  the  second  floor. 


Stages  4  and  5.    Complete  inner  stage  is  built  within  each. 


Screen  in  sound  theatre. 


Monitor  room:  "Mixer"  platform 
above. 


Interiors  of  projection  room. 


Two  of  Best  Sound 
Stages  Built  byU.A. 
For  1929  Releases 

Five  All-Audiens,  Six  Part  Dialogue, 
Seven  with  Sound  Scheduled 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2.— Five  all-audiens, 
six  part-audiens  and  seven  with  sound  but 
without  dialogue  are  United  Artists'  answer 
to  the  call  for  the  new  type  of  picture  to 
be  released  in  1929.  For  production  of 
these  pictures  United  Artists  has  built  two 
of  the  best  equipped  sound  stages  in  exist- 
ence. 

The  five  all-audiens  are  Mary  Pickford's 
"Coquette,"  Roland  West's  "Nightstick," 
Herbert  Brenon's  "Lummox,"  Ronald  Col- 
man's  "Bulldog  Drummond"  and  Vilma 
Banky's  "Childs,  Fifth  Avenue." 

Four  in  Production 

The  six  part-audiens,  four  of  which  are 
in  production,  are  Douglas  Fairbanks'  "The 
Iron  Mask,"  Charlie  Chaplin's  "City  Lights," 
Gloria  Swanson's  "Queen  Kelly,"  Henry 
King's  "She  Goes  to  War,"  and  Harry 
Richman's  "Say  It  with  Music." 

Voices  that  will  be  heard  on  the  screen 
for  the  first  time  are  those  of  Mary  Pick- 
ford,  Gloria  Swanson,  Vilma  Banky,  Doug- 
las Fairbanks,  Ronald  Colman,  Lupe  Velez, 
Alma  Rubens,  Walter  Byron,  Pat  O'Malley, 
Eleanor  Griffith  and  Mae  Busch.  Directors 
of  audiens:  Erich  von  Stroheim,  D.  W. 
Griffith,  Herbert  Brenon,  Henry  King, 
Charles  Chaplin,  Allan  Dwan,  Sam  Taylor, 
Roland  West,  Alfred  Santell,  Alan  Crosland 
and  F.  Richard  Jones. 

Others  with  Sound 

Pictures  that  will  be  released  with  sound 
and  without  dialogue  include  the  Max  Rein- 
hardt-Lillian  Gish  film  written  by  Hugo 
von  Hofmannsthal;  Ronald  Colman  in  "The 
Rescue,"  direction  of  Herbert  Brenon; 
Dolores  del  Dio  in  "Evangeline,"  direction 
of  Edwin  Carewe;  John  Barrymore  in 
"King  of  the  Mountains,"  direction  of  Ernst 
Lubitsch;  Norma  Talmadge  in  a  film  based 
on  an  original  by  William  J.  Locke;  Con- 
stance Talmadge  in  "Venus";  and  Rex 
Ingram's  "Three  Passions." 

"I  would  be  foolish  to  fly  in  the  face 
of  public  acceptance  of  sound  pictures  and 
we  are  setting  about  to  supply  this  demand 
as  rapidly  and  legitimately  as  possible," 
said  President  Joseph  M.  Schenck  in  the 
Los  Angeles  Examiner.  "We  have  two  of 
the  finest  equipped  sound  stages  in  the 
world  now  ready  for  talking  picture  pro- 
duction. 

Huge  Market  for  Silent 

"I  believe  no  mistake  could  be  more  seri- 
ous than  to  ignore  silent  pictures  with  the 
huge  market  at  home  and  particularly 
abroad  for  this  type  of  picture.  Funda- 
mentally, the  talking  picture  is  mechanical 
in  the  same  sense.  The  camera  photographs 
with  power,  reality  and  penetration  that  are 
unsurpassed. 

"A  Sarah  Bernhardt  might  fool  the  public 
with  her  makeup  on  the  stage,  but  she 
could  not  fool  the  camera.  The  talkies 
do  not  achieve  this  reality,  this  truthfulness 
which  the  camera  possesses.  So  far,  the 
results  have  been  quite  opposite.  Voices 
on  the  screen  do  not  sound  like  voices  in 
real  life  and  it  remains  to  be  proven  whether 
this  mechanical  artificiality  can  be  over- 
come. A  phonograph  record  is  still  a 
phonograph  record.  A  good  phonograph 
record  may  be  better  than  a  bad  concert 
actually  heard,  but  it  cannot  be  the  equal 
of  a  good  concert  actually  heard. 

"The  motion  picture,  on  the  other  hand, 
has  given  a  reality  to  the  public  that  is  not 
possessed  ever  by  the  stage." 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


41 


THE  STUDIO 


Theatre  Owner  Is  Hero 
In  Big  Theatre  Fire 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
LAUREL,  IND.,  Jan.  2.— Philip 
Merril,  owner  of  a  theatre  here,  was 
a  hero  in  a  theatre  £re  last  week. 
Patrons,  many  of  them  children  were 
enjoying  a  wild  west  picture  when 
Barnes  swept  through  the  house  like 
mad.  Merril  kept  cool  and  assisted 
by  an  army  of  grown-ups  put  out  the 
Barnes.  The  patrons  escaped  from  the 
theatre  without  injury. 


$10,000  Damage  When 

Heater  Ignites  Film 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  2.— Damage  esti- 
mated at  more  than  $10,000  was  caused  by 
a  fire  breaking  out  in  the  cutting  rooms  of 
the  Charles  Rogers  Productions  unit  at 
Universal  City  last  week.  It  is  believed  the 
blaze  started  when  a  piece  of  film  fell 
against  an  electric  heater.  The  reels  of  Ken 
Maynard's  picture,  "The  California  Mail," 
on  which  they  were  working  at  the  time, 
were  destroyed,  as  well  as  the  offices,  cut- 
ting rooms  and  a  paint  shop.  The  negative 
of  the  Maynard  picture  was  in  the  studio 
laboratory,  saving  a  heavy  loss. 


Carl  Laemmle  Returns 
For  Daughter's  Wedding 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  2.— Carl  Laemmle 
returned  here  Saturday  to  attend  the  wed- 
ding of  his  daughter,  Rosabelle,  who  mar- 
ries Stanley  Bergerman  today.  Bergerman 
is  a  well-to-do  merchant  here.  Rev.  Edgar 
Magnin  officiates  at  the  wedding,  while 
only  a  few  friends  and  relatives  will  be 
present.  Carl  Laemmle,  Jr.,  will  be  the 
best  man. 


Hobart  and  Le  Baron 

Are  Reunited  at  F  BO 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  2.— Henry  Hobart 
and  William  Le  Baron,  both  of  whom  were 
associated  with  Cosmopolitan  in  the  days 
when  Marion  Davies  first  started  her  pic- 
ture career,  will  be  together  again  when 
Hobart  goes  to  F  B  O  to  become  part  of 
Le  Baron's  staff. 


Erie  Hampton  Joins  Pathe 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
CULVER  CITY,  Jan.  2.— Erie  Hampton, 
formerly  assistant  publicity  director  of  Fox 
West  Coast  Studios,  has  been  signed  to  the 
Pathe  publicity  staff  on  the  West  Coast. 


Marked  Slump  Said  to  Be  Due 
To  Xmas  Season  in  Production 

Metro-Goldwn-Mayer   Carrying   One-Fourth   of  Present  Studio 
Load,  Survey  of  Hollywood  Shows;  Pictures  Planned 
for  Work  at  Once  Is  Prediction 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  2.— With  only  26  pictures  of  feature  length  in  pro- 
duction this  week  the  business  of  making  pictures  is  nearer  to  a  standstill  than 
at  any  previous  time  in  several  years.  It  is  a  temporary  respite,  however, 
according  to  officials  of  Universal,  Fox,  First  National  and  Warner  Brothers 
which  are  the  biggest  companies  affected  by  the  slump. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,  on  the  other  hand  is  producing  25  per  cent  of  the 
total  number  of  pictures  in  production  in  the  entire  colony. 
According  to  plans  and  announcements  10    dolf,  _Myrtle_Stedman,   Frederick  Graham 


James  Kirkwood  to  Return  to  Screen 

NEW  YORK. — James  Kirkwood  will  return  to  the 
screen  to  appear  in  Warner  Brothers  picture  "The 
Time,  the  Place  and  the  Girl."  Kirkwood  will  hare 
a  speaking  part  in  the  picture. 


pictures  will  be  launched  before  the  end 
of  this  week.  Studios  have  been  waiting 
for  the  passing  of  the  holidays,  it  is  said, 
to  resume  work  on  an  extensive  scale. 
Fox  Only  Lot  to  Start  One 
Only  one  picture  went  into  production 
during  the  last  week  of  1928.  It  was  Fox's 
"Girls  Gone  Wild,"  a  Sue  Carol-Nick  Stuart 
production  which  Lou  Seiler  is  directing. 
Miss  Carol  and  Stuart  will,  of  course,  do 
the  romancing  and  Roy  D'Arcy  will  pro- 
vide the  menace.  John  Darrow,  another 
rapidly  rising  young  artist,  has  been  as- 
signed an  important  role  in  "Girls  Gone 
Wild." 

At  the  same  time  the  Fox  company 
finished  five  of  the  seven  pictures  they  have 
been  working  on.  F.  W.  Murnau  wrote 
finis  to  his  production,  "Our  Daily  Bread.-' 
This  is  Murnau's  third  American-made  pic- 
ture and  co-features  Charles  Farrell  and 
Mary  Duncan.  Shooting  on  this  great 
drama  of  the  wheat  ranches  began  on  Labor 
Day  and  production  has  been  kept  rigidly 
to  schedule  since  that  time,  many  weeks 
having  been  spent  on  location.  The  sup- 
porting cast  includes  such  capable  players 
as  David  Torrence,  Edith  Yorke,  Dawn 
O'Day,  Jack  Pennick  and  Dick  Alexander. 
Murnau  will  assist  in  the  editing  and  cut- 
ting of  "Our  Daily  Bread,"  after  which  he 
contemplates  a  trip  to  Germany. 

John  Ford  completed  his  latest  produc- 
tion for  Fox  during  the  past  week.  It  is 
Victor  McLaglen's  starring  vehicle,  "Strong 
Boy,"  in  which  he  plays  the  role  of  a  bag- 
gage smasher  who  tries  a  white  collar  job. 
Leatrice  Joy  is  cast  opposite  McLaglen  with 
Clyde  Cook,  Farrell  MacDonald,  Tom 
Wilson,  Jack  Pennick  and  Slim  Summer- 
ville  playing  important  parts.  Director 
Ford  took  a  company  of  80  to  the  Mexican 
border  near  Carrizo  Gorge  for  the  filming 
of  sequences  of  this  picture. 

"White  Fury,"  which  went  into  produc- 
tion on  the  Fox  lot  November  12,  was  com- 
pleted during  the  week.  It  is  a  story  based 
on  experiences  in  the  frozen  north  country, 
and  was  directed  by  Charles  Klein.  The 
cast  is  headed  by  Lawrence  Gray  and 
petite  Nancy  Carroll  of  musical  comedy 
fame.  Others  of  importance  in  the  list  of 
players  are  Josephine  Dunn,  Anders  Ran- 


and  George  Davis.  The  original  story  was 
by  Frederick  H.  Brennan  and  Philip  Klein. 
Harry  Behn  wrote  the  adaptation. 

Madge  Bellamy  finished  work  during  the 
week  in  her  latest  starring  vehicle  for  Fox 
Films  which  has  been  permanently  titled 
"Fugitives."  The  picture  was  started 
under  temporary  title  of  "Exiles"  and  con- 
tains a  varied  assortment  of  excitement, 
suspense  and  thrills.  This  is  William  Beau- 
dine's  first  directorial  effort  under  his  new 
contract  with  Fox.  Don  Terry  plays  oppo- 
site Miss  Bellamy  and  Earle  Foxe,  Arthur 
Stone,  Jean  Lafferty  and  Matthew  Betz 
compose  the  strong  cast  appearing  in  the 
supporting  roles. 

Korda-SUls  Film  Done 
First  National  completed  two  pictures 
during  the  week,  leaving  only  two  in  pro- 
duction. Alexander  Korda  directed  the  Ned 
Marin  production,  "The  Comedy  of  Life" 
in  which  Milton  Sills  was  starred  with 
Maria  Corda  playing  opposite.  First 
National  has  reproduced  in  detail,  a  large 
section  of  Venice,  Italy,  for  scenes  in  this 
picture.  This  Venice  in  California  was  con- 
structed in  the  center  of  a  large  lake,  to 
provide  the  famous  canals.  Several  city 
blocks  were  built,  and  the  waters  surround- 
ing them  were  alive  with  gay  gondolas  and 
singing  gondoliers.  There  are  also  many 
scenes  of  Africa  and  England  in  the  picture. 
Maria  Corda  will  be  seen  in  the  role  of  an 
operatic  singer  and  the  operas  "Aida"  and 
"Carmen"  are  given  with  complete  casts. _ 

Richard  Barthelmess  completed  work  in 
"Weary  River"  during  the  week.  The  pic- 
ture was  directed  by  Frank  Lloyd  with 
Betty  Compson  playing  the  leading  femi- 
nine role.  In  this  grim  prison  story  Bar- 
thelmess plays  the  part  of  a  singing  con- 
vict who  becomes  a  radio  and  vaudeville 
star.  He  will  play  the  piano  and  sing  in 
the  Vitaphone  sequences. 

Nixon-Collier 
Robert  Vignola  has  completed  the  FBO 
production,  "The  Red  Sword,"  a  graphic 
story  of  Cossack  rule  in  Russia  during  the 
old  days  of  Czarist  regime.  The  story  is 
by  S.  E.  V.  Taylor  and  was  adapted  to  the 
screen  by  Wyndham  Gittens.  Marian  Nixon 
and  Buster  Collier,  are  co-featured  with 
(Continued  on  next  page) 


\ 


42 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


"Qood  Month  Ahead"  So  Actors  and 
Studio  People  Whoop  It  Up 

And  Arthur  Stebbins  Arranges  Big  Natal  Day  Surprise  for  Joseph 
Schenck;  Mike  Levee  Does  the  Honors  at  Dinner 
By  DOUGLAS  HODGES 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  2. — Although  the  studio  and  theatre  situation  these 
past  10  days  has  been  uninspiring"  there  are  prognostications  from  every 
quarter  that  this  month  will  find  business  extraordinarily  good  in  both  ends 
of  the  industry. 

booked  his  latest  picture  of  the  "Ace  of 
Sport"  series.  Johnny  Weismuller  and 
Merna  Kennedy  are  in  the  film. 


ON  A  LOT 
OF  THE  LOTS 


BUSINESS  in  all  Coast  theatres  took 
a  change  of  direction  the  latter  part  of 
December  and,  according  to  Harold  B. 
Franklin,  president  of  West  Coast  The- 
atres, the  condition  of  the  show  business  is 
on  the  upgrade. 

Franklin  mentions  talking  pictures  in 
stating  his  reasons  for  believing  January 
will  show  a  change  in  the  barometer  of 
business,  stating  that  a  number  of  them 
have  been  booked  by  West  Coast. 

The  studios  have  accomplished  practi- 
cally nothing  in  the  past  10  days.  Em- 
ployees have  made  "whoopee"  three  days 
before  and  after  each  Sunday  and  holiday. 
They  have  practically  refused  to  do  any 
work  at  all  and  have  apparently  been  cele- 
brating the  approach  of  a  prosperous  month 
by  making  a  running  start  on  it. 

*  *  * 
Schenck  and  Stebbins 
Feted  at  Big  To-Do 

Joseph  M.  Schenck  had  honors  bestowed 
upon  him  again  this  week  at  a  heavy  dinner 
at  the  Roosevelt  hotel,  Hollywood's  club 
room  if  not  its  favorite  holstery.  Arthur 
W.  Stebbins,  Schenck's  friend  and  associate, 
helped  arrange  the  shindig  which  was  re- 
garded one  of  Xmas  Week's  big  affairs. 

About  60  were  there,  about  a  dozen  of 
whom  rate  21  guns  and  about  three  dozen 
who  rate  at  least  a  couple  of  guns.  They 
all  laid  off  work  and  went  to  the  big  birth- 
day party.  Mr.  Schenck  was  born  the  day 
after  Christmas. 

Mike  Levee  was  toastmaster  and  gave 
numerous  guests  an  opportunity  to  make 
remarks  regarding  the  honored  guest. 

Many  of  the  following  invited  guests 
were  there: 

Adolph  Zukor,  Douglas  Fairbanks,  Charles  Chap- 
lin, Milton  Sills,  Winfield  Sheehan,  D.  W.  Griffith, 
Dr.  A.  H.  Giannini,  'R.  C.  Durant,  Nathan  Burkan, 
Lou  Anger,  Fred  W.  Beetson.  Sam  Behrendt,  Jack 
Conway,  John  W.  Considine,  Jr.,  Buster  Collier  and 
Edwin  Carewe. 

Harry  Cohn,  Leo  Diegel,  B.  P.  Fineman,  Robert 
Fairbanks,  I.  C.  Freud,  Harold  B.  Franklin,  John 
Gilbert,  Samuel  Goldwyn,  Sid  Grauman,  Ben  Goetz, 
Barney  Glazer,  Arthur  Hornblow,  Albert  Kaufman, 
Buster  Keaton,  Robert  Z.  Leonard,  Lou  Lipton, 
Ernst  Lubitsch,  M.  C.  Levee,  Abraham  Lehr,  Louis 
B.  Mayer,  Eddie  Mannix,  Ned  Marin,  William  Mel- 
horn,  Harry  Wilson,  Dr.  Hugo  Reisenfeld,  Bobby 
North,  Fred  Niblo,  Frank  Newman,  Frank  Orsatti, 
Kent  Parrot,  Watterson  Rothacker,  Harry  Rapf,  Hal 
Roach,  Hunt  Stromberg,  B.  P.  Schulberg,  Hal  Steb- 
bins, Irving  Thalberg,  Joe  Toplitsky,  Jack  Warner, 
Sol  Wurtzel,  Rolan  West,  Louis  Wolheim  and  Daryl 
Zanuck. 

*  *  * 

Corinne  Griffith,  who  had  a  contract  with  First 
National  with  a  year  to  run,  abrogated  her  contract 
with  the  company  this  week  by  another  which  calls 
for  three  years  and  two  pictures  per  year.  ALL  six 
will  be   talking  pictures. 

It  would  be  a  laugh  if  some  of  the  producers  were 
found  to  be  talking  sanely  about  the  approaching 
fate  of  talking  pictures.  It  would  be  odd  if  talking 
pictures  proved  to  be  only  a  six  months'  fad  and  if 
Corinne  were  found  to  be  the  only  one  talking  in 
Hollywood  next  year. 

*  *  * 

Dr.  Hugo  Reisenfeld  is  back  here.  He 
brought  the  first  sound  film  of  Ronald  Col- 
man's  new  starring  picture  with  him  when 
he  returned  this  week  from  New  York 

*  *  * 

Our  Pal 
Makes  Good 

Little  Nate  Slott,  whom  we  may  now 
hail  a  young  producer,  got  in  his  good  licks 
this    week    when     Metropolitan  theatre 


Al  Green  Chooses 
Joel  McCrea 

"The  Five  O'Clock  Girl,"  starring  Marion 
Davies,  boasts  a  notable's  son.  Alfred  E. 
Green,  a  box  office  director,  cast  him  this 
week  in  the  role  opposite  Miss  Davies. 

He  is  a  college  athlete  of  West  Coast 
fame  and  is  the  son  of  Thomas  F.  McCrea, 
recently  retired  as  secretary  of  the  Los 
Angeles  Gas  and  Electric  Light  Corpora- 
tion.   His  name  is  Joel  McCrea. 


Marked  Slump  Said  to 
Be  Due  to  Christmas 
Season  in  Production 

(Continued  from  preceding  page) 

Carmel  Myers  and  Noah  Beery  in  the  sup- 
porting cast. 

George  Melford,  who  has  been  mega- 
phoning "The  Charlatan"  for  Universal, 
took  the  final  shots  on  this  production  last 
week.  Paul  Schofield  wrote  the  script  for 
the  story  which  was  originally  purchased 
for  Conrad  Veidt.  Holmes  Herbert,  how- 
ever, has  portrayed  the  leading  male  role 
with  Margaret  Livingston  in  the  feminine 
lead.  Rockcliffe  Fellows,  Philo  McCul- 
lough,  Rose  Tapley  and  Crauford  Kent  are 
in  the  supporting  cast. 

The  Tiffany-Stahl  production,  "The 
Miracle,"  was  completed  a  few  days  ago. 
George  Archainbaud  directed  with  Eve 
Southern,  Walter  Pidgeon  and  Montagu 
Love  in  the  principal  roles. 

The  Gus  Edwards  Movietone  Subject, 
"From  Broadway  to  Heaven"  was  com- 
pleted in  the  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  sound 
studios  during  the  past  week.  This  is  an 
all-color,  all-singing  production  featuring 
Charles  King,  musical  comedy  star  and 
popular  baritone,  and  will  be  embellished 
with  many  colorful  ballets  and  specialty 
dances. 

Neilan  Film  Completed 

Marshall  Neilan  completed  the  picture 
which  he  has  been  directing  for  British  and 
Dominions  Film  Corporation,  Ltd.,  during 
the  past  week.  The  picture  is  entitled 
"Fog"  and  is  an  all-talking  production  made 
in  the  new  Metropolitan  Sound  studios. 
John  Loder,  under  contract  to  Paramount, 
was  borrowed  from  that  company  to  play 
opposite  Mary  Brian,  who  has  the  feminine 
lead.  James  Kirkwood  has  one  of  the  most 
important  roles  and  is  supported  by  Lloyd 
Hamilton,  Robert  Ames,  Frank  Reicher  and 
Hallam  Cooley. 


New  Parkside  Opens 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  Jan.  2.— The  Park- 
side  theatre,  a  1000-seat  house,  was  opened 
last  week.  The  building  is  of  Spanish  de- 
sign, with  the  interior  representing  a  Roman 
theatre  with  canopied  ceiling. 


Regarding: 


Thelma  Todd 
Benjamin  Christianson 
Tom  Mix 
Clara  Bow 
Colleen  Moore 
Billie  Dove 
Sharon  Lynn 
Jean  Hersholt 
George  Sidney 


Guinn  Williams 
George  O'Brien 
Charlie  Farrell 
Janet  Gaynor 
Frank  Borzage 
William  Bakewell 
Alice  White 
Mervyn  Le  Roy 
Douglas  Fairbanks 


HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  2.— Thelma 
Todd,  who  until  a  few  days  ago 
was  a  First  National  star,  is  finding  it 
profitable  in  the  free  lance  field.  She 
has  had  three  calls  during  the  past 
three  days  to  appear  in  leading  roles 
for  various  producers,  but  had  already 
signed  to  play  the  starring  role  in 
"The  House  of  Horror"  which  Ben- 
jamin Christianson  is  scheduled  to 
start  at  an  early  date,  for  First  Na- 
tional. 


Tom  Mix  the  big  "he  man"  from  all  out- 
doors, can  feel  justly  proud  when  he  can  boast 
of  filmdom's  greatest  stars  as  his  former  lead- 
ing women.  Clara  Bow,  the  most  popular, 
(according  to  box  office  record)  played  op- 
posite Mix  three  years  ago  when  he  was  with 
Fox.  Colleen  Moore,  did  her  stuff  in  "The 
Wilderness  Trail"  six  years  back,  then  came  the 
adorable  Billie  Dove  in  her  first  big  role,  op- 
posite Tom  in  "Soft  Boiled."  To  date,  no  one 
can  boast  of  having  this  trio,  except  Mix,  so 
with  a  combination  how  could  anything  but 
the  highest  be  attained. 


Sharon  Lynn,  recently  signed  by  Fox  for  a 
long  term  contract,  is  looking  forward  to  the 
time  when  she  will  be  engaged  for  a  picture 
where  Jean  Hersholt  and  George  Sidney  are 
cast.  She  appeared  in  one  several  months  ago 
entitled,  "Give  and  Take"  and  she  is  still 
giggling  over  the  many  pleasant  hours  of  the 
making.  "Both  Mr.  Hersholt  and  George  are 
so  funny,"  says  Sharon.  "They  kept  the  whole 
cast  laughing  all  the  time  they  were  on  the 
picture,  kidding  in  Jewish  and  Danish  dialect." 
She  says  they  are  a  sure  cure  for  the  blues. 
This  is  often  needed  with  so  many  of  the 
well  known  grouches  who  are  given  an  early 
call.  More  power  to  the  ones  with  a  sense  of 
humor.  Miss  Lynn  is  preparing  to  make  a 
Movietone  short  entitled,  "Women  Are  Like 
That,"  at  Fox. 

Take  it  from  me  folks,  Guinn  Williams, 
better  known  as  "Big  Boy,"  will  soon  be  as 
well  known  as  some  of  the  greatest  stars. 
There  is  always  a  reason  for  predictions. 
He  put  over  one  of  his  biggest  roles  in 
"Noah's  Ark"  as  a  buddy  of  George 
O'Brien.  Of  course,  George  would  natural- 
ly lend  color,  but  nevertheless,  "Big  Boy's" 
work  stands  out.  He  is  now  booked  to  ap- 
pear with  Charlie  Farrell  and  Janet  Gaynor 
in  "Blue  Skies."  When  he  finishes  this  he 
will  return  to  Warner  Brothers  to  do  a 
Vitaphone  production. 


Stardom  within  the  next  12  months,  is  be- 
ing freely  predicted  for  William  Bakewell, 
handsome  young  leading  man  for  Alice  White, 
now  appearing  in  "Hot  Stuff,"  which  Mervyn 
LeRoy  is  directing.  Bakewell  has  little  time 
to  call  his  own,  for  no  sooner  had  he  finished  a 
dual  role  with  ]%uglas  Fairbanks  in  "The 
Iron  Mask,"  than  he  was  called  for  the  lead 
opposite  Miss  White. 

—BOB  FRAZIER. 


January  5,  1929 
r 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


43 


Here's  Principle 
Of  Telegraphone 
At  Sound  School 


The  apparatus  being  used  by  Professors 
Immel  and  MacDonald  in  voice  develop- 
ment at  the  school  of  the  motion  picture 
at  the  University  of  Southern  California, 
is  a  refined  form  of  the  Poulson  Telegra- 
phone, based  on  a  principle  of  use  of  elec- 
tro-magnetic impulses.  By  magnetic 
recording  without  distortion,  these  voices 
are  reproduced  and  analyzed,  and  defects 
are  picked  out  and  corrected.  Unlike  the 
phonograph,  the  Telegraphone  record,  on 
a  piece  of  magnetized  wire,  can  be  slowed 
down,  almost  as  "slow  motion"  films 
analyze  motion,  and  the  component  parts 
of  sound  thus  can  be  carefully  dissected. 
Considerable  headway  in  speech  analysis 
and  instruction  has  been  made  by  Dean 
Immel  and  Prof.  MacDonald. 

Microscope  of  Sound  Waves 

The  Telegraphone  in  itself  is  composed 
of  a  long  steel  wire,  which,  passing  from 
spool  to  spool,  runs  through  a  magnetic 
talking  head,  in  which,  actuated  by  voice 
vibrations,  an  impedance  is  set  up  which 
changes  the  molecular  assembly  of  the  steel. 
The  record  is  permanent. 

It  can  be  run  through  a  receiving  head 
similar  to  a  phonographic  electric  pickup, 
amplified  by  power  tubes  and  sent  over  a 
loud  speaker.  Records  are  taken  both  with 
the  microphone  and  the  Church  acousticon, 
or  delicate  four-plate  microphone — a  veri- 
table microscope  of  sound  waves. 

Besides  using  the  audible  record,  the 
telegraphone  wire  is  also  attached  to  the 
phonodike,  an  adaptation  of  the  oscillograph, 
as  perfected  by  Dayton  C.  Mills,  famous 
physicist  of  the  Case  School  of  Applied 
Science. 

Galvanometer  Used 

This  device,  in  which  a  galvanometer,  ac- 
tuated by  the  delicate  currents  generated 
in  the  magnetic  pickup,  records  its  move- 
ments by  means  of  a  mirror,  throwing  a 
beam  of  light  onto  a  moving  sensitized 
paper,  provides  an  extremely  accurate  "pic- 
ture" of  every  voice  vibration.  The  kymo- 
graph, a  mechanical  device  for  the  same 
purpose,  is  also  used.  This  consists  of  a 
delicate  diaphragm  from  which  a  slender 
thread  runs,  to  be  looped  three  times  over 
a  drum  pivoted  on  watch  jewels,  and  then 
to  a  tension  spring. 

The  movements  of  the  diaphragm,  thus 
imparted  to  the  drum,  are  recorded  by  a 
mirror,  beam,  and  sensitized  tape  in  the 
same  manner  as  with  the  phonodike,  save 
that  the  method  is  mechanical  rather  than 
electrical. 

The  laryngal  stroboscope  is  also  used  in 
the  "voice  analysis,"  and  photographs  the 
actual  movements  of  the  vocal  machinery 
in  generating  sound,  by  means  of  whirling 
perforated  discs,  somewhat  on  the  principle 
of  the  camera-shutter  in  a  motion  picture 
camera. 


$1,000  a  Day  to  Run 

Carnival  in  Ouachita 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

MONROE,  LA.,  Jan.  2— Carnivals  out- 
side the  corporate  limits  in  Ouachita 
parish,  after  January  first,  will  pay  a  license 
fee  of  one  thousand  dollars  a  day.  Opinion 
was  manifest  that  carnivals  are  usually 
accompanied    by    thefts     and  robberies. 


An  improved  form  of  the  Telegraphone  is  used  here  by  Ray  K.  Immel  (above),  dean  of  the 
school  of  speech  of  the  I  niversity  of  Southern  California,  in  recording  and  analyzing  the 
voice  of  Xorma  Shearer,  M  G  M  star.  This  was  part  of  a  survey  by  Dean  Immel  and  Prof, 
ff  .  R.  MacDonald.  director  of  dramatics,  to  establish  a  scientific  terminology  for  screen 
speaking  voices.    (Story  on  page  64  ) 

Notables  of  Industry  Attend 
Last  Rites  for  Fred  Thomson 

Funeral  Services  for  Beloved  Western  Actor  Held  Three  Days 
Prior  to  Burial — Film  Capital  Bows  in  Tribute  to 
the  Man  and  His  Influence 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  2. — Funeral  services  for  Fred  Thomson  were  held 
last  Wednesday,  and  burial  was  at  Forest  Lawn  cemetery  Monday.  Burial 
was  private. 

The  industry  paid  beautiful  tribute  to  its  friend.  Directors,  writers,  pro- 
ducers and  actors  laid  aside  their  work  to  attend  the  rites  at  Beverly  Hill? 
Community  Presbyterian  church.  Xot  since  the  death  of  Valentino  had  they 
lost  a  more  widely  known  fellow-craftsman.  Nor  had  the  industry  ever  lost  a 
member  who  had  been  of  greater  influence  in  building  the  prestige  of  motion 
pictures. 


Warners  Sign  JulianT  Josephson 
NEW    YORK — Julian    Josephson,    scenarist,  has 
been  signed  by  Warner  Brothers  for  a  long  time 
contract.    Josephson  will  begin  work  on  Al  Jolson's 
next  picture  "Mammy." 


Studio  people  who  loved  Thomson  be- 
cause of  this  influence,  were  there  in  hun- 
dreds to  pay  homage.  Douglas  Fairbanks, 
Louis  B.  Mayer  and  Harold  Lloyd,  Buster 
Keaton,  Marion  Davies,  Norman  Kern,-, 
Lloyd  Ingraham,  George  Hill  and  Al  and 
Ray  Rockett  were  among  the  more  promi- 
nent persons  present. 

Admired  for  Many  Talents 

People  attended  who  not  only  admitted 
he  was  their  screen  hero  but  people  who 
had  known  him  to  be  their  real  hero  as  well. 
People  here  have  regarded  him  as  a  soldier, 
a  fighter,  a  disciple  of  the  Gospel,  a  scien- 
tist, a  writer,  sportsman  and  an  actor.  He 
represented  to  production  people  the  kind 
of  man  any  industry  is  fortunate  in  possess- 
ing. They  had  gasped  when  they  heard  of 
his  death. 

Pallbearers  were  Harold  Lloyd,  Charles 
Farrell,  George  Hill,  Douglas  Fairbanks, 
Henry  Thomson  and  David  R.  Fearles.  The 
honorary  pallbearers  were  Frank  Beery,  Dr. 
Frank  R.  Barham,  William  Randolph 
Hearst,  O.  K.  Cole,  Harry  Carr,  Harry 
Chandler,  Lloyd  Ingraham,  Norni'i  Kerry, 
Buster  Keaton,  Al  and  Ra.,    Rockett,  Dr. 


Edward  S.  Merrill,  Joseph  M.  Schenck,  Mil- 
ton Sills,  Walter  Van  Pelt,  Dr.  John  Wilson 
and  Tom  Mix. 

Lauds  His  Ideals 

Dr.  Arthur  Lee  Odell  uttered  a  pro- 
nouncement of  Thomson's  worth  and  ideals, 
addressed  to  the  widow,  Francis  Marion, 
who  was  certainly  comforted  as  much  by 
his  address  as  by  the  efforts  that  doctors 
made  to  help  her  bear  up  in  her  bereave- 
ment. 

Rev.  W.  E.  Roberts  and  Rev.  Paul  Elliott, 
friends  and  college  chums  of  Thomson,  were 
beside  Dr.  Odell  on  the  rostrum.  A  hymn 
was  sung  by  John  Roach,  one  of  Thomson's 
closest  friends. 

While  the  organ  whispered  the  funeral 
march,  the  casket  was  borne  slowly  down 
the  aisle  and  the  great  assemblage  rose  as 
one  person  in  final  farewell  to  Fred  Thom- 
son. 


Arthur  Knorr  Marries  Ruth  Grey 
NEW  YORK. — Arthur  Knorr,  associated  with  the 
Capitol  theatre  for  five  years,  married   Ruth  Grey 
recently.     Mrs.   Knorr  appeared  in  George  White's 
"Scandals." 


44 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


THE  SHORT  FEATURE 


January  Brings  Christie  Talking 
Plays  and  Cohen  Negro  Stories 

The  first  month  of  the  new  year  brings  release  of  the  Christie  All-Talking 
Plays  which  mark  the  most  radically  different  step  in  short  feature  production 
ever  made  by  that  organization.  A  series  of  pictures  adapted  from  stage  play- 
lets, as  well  as  the  Octavus  Roy  Cohen  stories  in  their  original  Negro  dialogue, 
will  go  to  the  exhibitors. 


The  first  Paramount-Christie  release  will 
be  the  travesty  sketch,  "When  Caesar  Ran 
a  Newspaper,"  by  Waldemar  Young  and 
William  Jacobs.  This  features  Raymond 
Hatton  as  Julius  Caesar,  who  edits  the 
"Morning  After,"  and  Sam  Hardy,  former 
Broadway  musical  comedy  star,  as  Marc 
Anthony,  the  press  agent  for  Cleopatra. 
Also  seen  are  Betty  Lorraine  as  Cleopatra, 
Maude  Truax  as  Mrs.  Calpurnia  Caesar,  and 
Carl  Stockdale  as  Busto  Magneto,  Caesar's 
chauffeur. 

Next  will  be  E.  P.  Heath's  comedy  play- 
let, "A  Bird  in  the  Hand,"  featuring  Lois 
Wifeon,  with  Jason  Robards,  Roy  D'Arcy, 
and  Dot  Farley,  directed  by  A.  Leslie 
Pearce. 

Cohen  Negro  Story  Follows 
Following  "A  Bird  in  the  Hand"  will  be 
Octavus  Roy  Cohen's  "The  Melancholy 
Dame,"  introducing  dusky  fictional  charac- 
ters made  famous  in  Cohen's  published 
stories,  such  as  Florian  Slappey,  Mr.  Perma- 
nent Williams  and  his  wife,  Jonquil;  Mr. 
Webster  Dill  of  Dill's  Sinful  Sincopators; 
Sappho  Dill,  his  dancing  wife;  and  Lawyer 
Evans  Chew;  these  directed  by  Arvid  E. 
Gillstrom,  and  supervised  by  Alfred  A. 
Cohn. 

"Post  Mortems,"  a  comedy  of  bridge  and 
burglars,  by  Charles  Devine,  playwright, 
will  introduce  Raymond  Griffith,  the  whis- 
pering comedian,  in  a  unique  audien  role. 

All-Colored  Casts  Planned 

The  next  of  the  Octavus  Roy  Cohen 
stories  to  go  into  production  will  be  "Music 
Hath  Harms,"  the  story  of  the  celebrated 
colored  cornetist,  Roscoe  Griggers,  with  his 
rival,  Professor  Aleck  Champagne,  Sis  Cal- 


Newspictures 


KINOGRAMS  NO.  5461— Gene  Tunney  presents 
trophy  sent  by  Leathernecks  to  Marines — Horton 
Smith,  20-year-old  professional  from  Missouri  beats 
Walter  Hagen  by  one  stroke — 11  proteges  of  the 
late  Isadora  Duncan  arrive  on  first  visit  to  U.  S. 

PARAMOUNT  NEWS  NO.  44— U.  S.  S.  Saratoga, 
$45,000,000  plane  carrier  sets  new  mark  of  34.9 
knots  in  final  trials — Paramount  News  gives  sum- 
mary of  highlights  for  1928 — Mayor  Thompson 
dedicates  new  La  Salle  street  bridge  in  Chicago. 

MGM  NEWS  NO.  40— Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coolidge  ar- 
rive in  Brunswick,  Georgia,  for  vacation — Germany 
has  new  rubber  bumper  for  automobiles  to  soften 
shocks — Fifty-foot  yacht  from  Washington  starts 
trip  around  world. 

PATHE  NEWS  NO.  1.— Peru  hails  President-elect 
Hoover  on  goodwill  tour — Japanese  Emperor  sees 
warriors  on  parade  in  honor  of  his  ascension  to 
throne — Flying  Barrel  plane  prepares  for  flight 
from  California. 

INTERNATIONAL  NEWSREEL  NO.  103— Pope 
Pius  XI  completes  50th  year  in  priesthood — $1,000,- 
000  fire  sweeps  new  Rockefeller  cherch  in  Riverside 
Drive,  New  York— President  Coolidge  signs  bill  to 
build  Boulder  Dam. 


lie  Flukers,  Sam  Gin,  Willie  Trout,  and 
other  popular  characters  of  the  Over  the 
River  Burying  Society. 

In  the  Cohen  colored  stories,  types  are 
being  picked  for  the  all-colored  casts  to 
carry  out  faithfully  the  story  atmosphere, 
holding  to  all  of  the  original  dialogue  used 
in  the  published  stories. 

In  the  Christie  Talking  Plays,  which  are 
based  on  the  stage  plays  and  sketches  such 
as  mentioned  above,  it  will  be  the  policy 
to  cast  them  with  stars  from  both  stage 
and  screen,  so  that  in  the  coming  season 
with  Paramount,  probably  at  least  two 
dozen  big-name  stars  will  be  presented  in 
the  Christie  audiens. 


"Eligible  Mr.  Bang" 

Sound  Short  Finished 

The  first  picture  of  Educational's  second 
series  of  talking  comedies  has  been  com- 
pleted. "The  Eligible  Mr.  Bang,"  is  a  story 
from  Robert  Housum,  and  was  produced  by 
the  Coronet  Comedies  Inc.  Edward  Everett 
Horton  is  the  star  in  the  picture. 


Releases 


WEEK  OF  JANUARY  6 

M  G  M — "Napoleon's  Homeland,"  Oddity. 
PARAMOUNT— "Nifty  Numbers,"  Confessions  of  a 

Chorus  Girl  series,  Frances  Lee,  two. 
PATHE — "Clunked   on   the    Corner,"   Handy  Andy 

series,  two. 

UNIVERSAL — "Homeless  Homer,"  Oswald,  one; 
Issue  2,  Serial  No.  7302;  "Collegians,"  No.  3;  "In- 
ternational Newsreel,"  "Speeding  Youth,"  "Hurled 
Thru  Space,"  Mystery  Rider  series  No.  7;  "Out  at 
Home,"  Buster  Brown  Series,  two;  "International 
Newsreel,"  No.  3 — "The  Range  of  Fear,"  Bob 
Curwood,  two. 

WEEK  OF  JANUARY  13 

EDUCATIONAL— "Walking  Fish,"  Our  World  To- 
day, one;  "Going  Places,"  Davis,  Mermaid,  two; 
"What  a  Trip,"  Dent,  Cameo,  one. 

M  G  M — "Untitled,"  Events;  "Election  Day,"  Our 
Gang,  two. 

PARAMOUNT— "Why  Gorillas  Leave  Home,"  Bobby 
Vernon,  two. 

PATHE— "Untitled,"  Smitty  Series,  No.  4. 

UNIVERSAL — "Shadows,"  Snappy  Comedy,  one; 
"International  Newsreel,"  No.  4;  "Unmasked," 
Mystery  Rider  series,  No.  8,  Desmond,  two;  "Three 
Brox  Sisters,"  Movietone  act,  one;  "Hold  Your 
Horses,"  Mike  and  Ike,  Stern  Bros.,  two;  "In- 
ternational Newsreel,"  No.  5;  "Claim  Jumpers," 
Forest  Ranger  series,  Cobb,  two. 

WEEK  OF  JANUARY  20 

EDUCATIONAL— "Only  Me,"  Lupino  Lane,  two; 
"Untitled,"  Hodge  Podge,  one. 

MGM — "Uphill  and  Down,"  oddity;  "Untitled," 
Chase,  two. 

PATHE — "Baby's  Birthday,"  Smith  family  series. 

UNIVERSAL— "Yankee  Clippers,"  Oswald,  one:  "In- 
ternational Newsreel,"  "Doomed,"  Mystery  Riders 
Series  No.  9,  Desmond,  two;  "Bailey  and  Barnum," 
movietone  short,  one;  "The  Winning  Point,"  Col- 
legians, No.  11  j  "Newlyweds  Headache,"  Snookums, 
two;  "International  Newsreel,  No.  7 — "Men  in  the 
Raw,"  Hoxie,  two. 

WEEK  OF  JANUARY  27 

EDUCATIONAL— "Dumb,  and  How,"  Thatcher- 
Young,  Cameo,  one;  "Beauties  Beware,"  Jerry 
Drew,  Ideal,  two. 

M  G  M— "Liberty,"  Laurel-Hardy,  two. 

PATHE — "Uncle  Tom,"  Sennett  De  Luxe  series,  two. 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 

To  Release  26  New 
Movietone  Acts  in  1929 

Starting  January  5,  and  ending  March  30, 
MGM  will  release  26  Metro  -  Movietone 
acts.  The  list  includes  two  talking  playlets, 
"Confessions,"  and  "Nearly  Divorced." 
In  addition  to  this  are  acts  by  Gus  Ed- 
wards, George  Dewey  Washington,  Van  and 
Schenck,  Cliff  Edwards,  Bernardo  de  Pace, 
Marion  Harris,  George  Lyons,  Jan  Garbers 
band,  Vincent  Lopez,  Miller  and  Lyles, 
Whiting  and  Burt,  Duce  de  Kerekjarto, 
Gordon  and  Squires,  the  Eight  Victo 
Artists,  Bob  Nelson,  Phil  Spitalny's  band, 
Ersi  and  Ayers,  Odette  Myrtil,  Sunshine 
Sammy,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Norman  Phillips  and 
Norman  Philips  Jr. 


Grover  Whalen,  New  York's  new  police 
commissioner,  was  appearing  in  voice  and 
action  on  the  screen  via  Pathe  Sound 
News  within  48  hours  of  the  beginning  of 
his  new  duties. 


"Our  Gang"  Does  all  but 
Run  Off  with  Newspaper 
In  Contest  at  Waukegan 

How  "Our  Gang"  did  click  in  Waukegan  on 
its  tour  with  the  exploitation  campaign  of 
making  motion  pictures  in  various  cities  with 
local  boys  and  girls  taking  the  roles!  A  two- 
column  story  on  the  first  page  one  day,  and 
then  the  pagewide  headline  of  the  second  sec- 
tion of  the  second  day's  issue  of  the  Daily 
Sun  at  Waukegan,  111.,  comprised  one  of  the 
successes  achieved. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


45 


w 


PRESENTATION  ACTS 
Theme  Songs  Help  Good  Pictures 


STAGE  SHOWS 


San  Francisco  Granada 

Week  Ending  December  28 

This  week's  stage  attraction  was  in  the  form  of  a 
double  bill  and  patrons  found  their  money'6  worth, 
and  more,  in  each  offering.  The  music,  too,  was  of 
the  double  bill  variety,  with  Gino  Severi  taking  over 
the  duties  of  director  in  the  pit  and  Henry  Busse 
continuing  on  the  stage. 

The  first  6tage  show  was  in  the  form  of  a  special 
Christmas  offering,  featuring  a  group  of  youngsters 
from  Rose  Deihl's  Dancing  Academy  in  "Kiddies  in 
Toyland."  The  curtain  went  up  on  a  dreary  street 
scene,  wifh  snow  falling  on  a  homeless  waif,  who 
finally  curled  up  in  a  doorway  to  rest.  A  good  fairy 
tripped  in,  touched  the  hungry  child  with  her  wand 
and  her  rags  were  transformed  into  the  richest  of 
raiment,  while  the  tenements  disappeared  and  a  beau- 
tiful interior  took  their  place. 

The  door  of  a  cabinet  opened  at  a  touch  of  the 
wand  and  six  girls  trooped  out  and  danced.  A  small 
harlequin  awoke  at  a  touch  of  the  wand  and  played 
the  accordion  very  effectively.  A  huge  candy  box 
opened  and  out  tumbled  a  tiny  tot,  who  sang.  The 
outstanding  feature  of  the  act  was  the  performance 
of  a  couple  of  girl  acrobats  of  exceptional  skill. 

The  waif  sang  a  little  song  of  gladness,  a  boy  in 
the  costume  of  old  Italy  offered  a  comedy  number 
and  a  doll  came  to  life  and  danced  on  a  huge  drum. 
The  chorus  came  on  to  the  music  of  "The  Wooden 
Soldiers"  and  later  danced  to  "Jingle  Bells."  The 
act  came  to  an  end  with  the  entire  company  appear- 
ing with  illuminated  building  blocks  spelling  out  the 
greeting,  "Merry  Christmas." 

Following  the  rendition  of  an  illustrated  song  the 
Publix  revue  "Wonderful  Girl"  took  the  stage,  and 
this  also  proved  out  of  the  ordinary,  being  in  the 
form  of  a  tabloid  musical  comedy  in  three  acts. 

The  first  act  was  on  the  deck  of  a  ship  on  the 
Atlantic  and  opened  with  an  introduction  in  6ong 
form,  introducing  the  principal  characters  and  the 
Dave  Gould  Girls,  who  danced. 

The  second  act  depicted  a  dock  scene  in  New  York, 
with  a  band  of  musicians  appearing  to  welcome  Henry 
Busse,  returning  from  a  trip  to  Europe.  A  quartette 
offered  music  that  must  have  caused  the  stevedores 
to  stop  work  to  listen. 

The  final  act  showed  the  orchestra  pit  and  stage 
of  a  New  York  theatre,  with  tired  chorus  girls  doing 
a  sitting  down  dance.  Henry  Busse  led  the  orchestra 
through  an  arrangement  of  old-time  music,  ccntrib- 
uting  a  trumpet  solo,  and  Eddie  Magill  sang  a  song 
written  by  a  local  writer  and  entitled  "The  Gang's 
All  Gone,"  offering  as  an  encore,  "I  Can't  Give  You 
Anything  But  Love." 

Al  and  Ray  Samuels  did  their  celebrated  tap  dance, 
Helene  Heller  and  Frank  Ruhf  sang,  and  the  presenta- 
tion came  to  an  end  with  the  curtain  at  the  rear 
rising  on  the  exterior  of  a  beautiful  church,  with  a 
wedding  party  making  its  appearance.  The  company 
sang  "Wonderful  Girl"  as  the  curtain  descended. 


Philadelphia  Stanley 

Week  Ending  December  29 

The  spirit  of  Christmas  was  greatly  in  evidence  at 
the  Stanley  this  week  and  the  program  was  one  of 
the  most  delightful  and  nicely  balanced  that  has  been 
offered  for  some  time.  Two  beautifully  lighted  Christ- 
mas trees  decorated  the  stage  and  the  divertissement 
was  called  "The  Night  Before  Christmas." 

The  Stanley  Symphony  Orchestra  presented  a  Christ- 
mas  fantasie  beginning  with  a  medley  of  Christmas 
carols  and  coming  to  a  dramatic  climax  with  Kitty 
McLaughlin  in  white  ecclesiastical  robe  singing  be- 
nt  {Continued  on  page  47) 


Claude  B.  Ball 


Claude  B.  Ball,  a  veteran  teacher  of  motion  pic- 
ture theatre  organ  music.  The  Ball  Theatre  Organ 
School  in  Chicago  is  a  busy  institution  these  days. 
If  you  don't  believe  it,  try  to  interview  Daddy,  as 
Mr.  Ball  is  familiarly  known  by  his  students,  for 
more  than  one  minute  (sixty  seconds).  It  just  can't 
be  done,  for  after  all,  business  is  business. 


Writes  Tucker  Song 

Sam  Lerner,  director  of  publicity  and  advertising 
for  DeSylva,  Brown  &  Henderson,  the  music  publish- 
ers, has  written  a  special  comedy  song  with  Ted 
Shapiro,  called  "My  Conversational  Man."  Sophie 
Tucker,  that  well  known  exponent  of  hot  songs,  is 
featuring  the  number  in  her  tour  of  vaudeville  thea- 
tres. 


ANNOUNCE  TO  THE 
PICTURE  HOUSE  MUSICAL  STAFF 

The  New  Ballad  by 
Sidney  Clare  and  Lew  Pollack  Entitled: 

"DONT  REMIND  ME" 
(I'm  Trying  to  Forget) 

and  Our  Popular  Song  Hit: 

"ME  AND  THE  MAN  IN 
THE  MOON" 

By  Edgar  Leslie  and  Jimmy  Monaco 


Good  Music  Puts 
Film  Across  in 
Any  Theatre 

"Sonny  Boy"  Has  Added  to  the 
Success  of  "The  Singing 
Fool" 

By  A.  RAYMOND  GALLO 

After  many  years  of  close  associ- 
ation the  music  publishers  and  the 
motion  picture  producers  have  finally 
realized  the  importance  of  each  others 
exploitation  angles  and  are  now  set 
out  to  work  together  in  more  close 
harmony  than  ever  before.  The  tre- 
mendous success  that  several  theme 
songs  have  made  in  the  past  year  has 
convinced  the  music  publishers  that 
the  motion  picture  tie-up  is  an  essen- 
tial one  for  a  quick  exploitation  of  the 
song.  The  film  producers  alsc  feel 
that  a  good  theme  song  can  do  a  great 
deal  in  popularizing  their  production 
as  the  sheet  music  and  records  are  a 
direct  means  of  advertising  the  pic- 
ture into  the  homes. 

About  two  years  ago  Sherman  Clay  & 
Company  led  the  field  when  it  published 
the  theme  songs  to  "What  Price  Glory," 
and  "Seventh  Heaven."  Everyone  knows 
that  "Charmaine"  and  "Diane"  were  hit 
songs  and  in  all  probability  would  have 
become  popular  regardless  of  the  film  tie- 
up.  However  the  songs  helped  make  the 
film  popular  and  vice  versa,  which  resulted 
in  a  complete  huge  success  of  both. 

Almost  immediately  after  this  incident 
the  Remick  Music  Corporation  came  out 
with  a  song  called  "Laugh,  Clown,  Laugh" 
that  was  used  as  a  theme  to  Lon  Chaney's 
motion  picture  of  the  same  name.  The 
song  became  an  overnight  hit  and  the 
picture  no  doubt  also  reached  the  money 
making  class,  as  all  Chaney's  pictures  do. 

Ramona  Song  and  Film  Success 
When  Delores  Del  Rio  came  out  with 
"Ramona"  it  was  learned  that  Leo  Feist 
Inc.  had  a  song  of  the  same  name  that  had 
been  written  long  before  the  picture  was 
ever  thought  of.  It  also  happened  that  the 
song  was  of  a  hit  calibre  and  for  a  long 
time  it  remained  on  top  of  the  best  sellers 
list  throughout  the  country.  The  same  pub- 
lishers later  issued  the  theme  to  "Lilac 
Time"  called  "Jeannine,  I  Dream  of  Lilac 
Time"  that  almost  surpassed  the  pace  set 
by  "Ramona." 

The  biggest  theme  song  hit  that  was  ever 
written  is  "Sonny  Boy"  from  the  "Singing 


46 


E 


XHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


SOUND 
SLIDES 


FEIST 

SLIDE-O'PHONE 
~-  m 


For 
All  Theatres 

that  can  use  any  kind  of 
sound  synchronizing  de- 
vice with  turntable 

FEIST 

SLIDE-O-PHONE 

PRESENTATIONS 
AND 

ORGAN 

Make 

An  Ideal  Combination 

With  vocal  and  instru- 
mental sound- 
Perfect  synchronization  — 
Our  own  recording  — 
Dialogue  — 

Ultra  modern  slides  — 
Explanatory  cue  sheets. 

Presentation  No.  I 

TM  SORRY 

SALLY" 

21  slides,  our  own 
synchronized  record 
and  cue  sheet 

Book  and  Order  NOW 

Rental  Fee  $6.00 
for  I  week  or  less 

Leo*  Feist,  Inc. 

231  W,  40th.  St. 

New  York,  N.Y. 


Fool"  which  is  published  by  De  Sylva, 
Brown  &  Henderson,  Inc.  The  sheet  music 
sales  on  this  number  has  gone  over  the 
1,250,000  mark  to  date,  and  the  sale  of 
records  has  surpassed  the  half-million  mark 
to  date.  These  same  publishers  have  been 
fortunate  in  making  adequate  tie-ups  with 
successful  films  and  are  also  the  publishers 
of  "Angela  'Mia,"  the  theme  of  "Street 
Angel." 

Another  incident  that  probably  will  never 
be  duplicated  in  the  history  of  the  music 
and  the  motion  picture  business  is  the  fact 
that  another  featured  song-  called  "There's 
A  Rainbow  'Round  My  Shoulders,"  which 
is  used  in  the  "Singing  Fool"  by  Al  Jolson, 
is  the  second  best  seller  in  the  country  to- 
day. Irving  Berlin,  Inc.  is  the  publisher  of 
this  song.  They  are  also  the  publishers 
of  "Marie"  theme  of  the  "Awakening"  and 
"Heart  'O  Mine,"  theme  of  "Noah's  Ark." 
Producers  Affiliate  with  Publishers 

The  above  are  only  a  few  examples  of 
what  theme  songs  have  done  for  pictures 
and  what  the  motion  pictures  have  done 
for  most  of  the  music  publishers.  To  sub- 
stantiate this  statement  we  want  to  inform 
the  trade  that  the  matter  has  become  so 
important  that  almost  every  leading  music 
publisher  has  made  a  definite  arrangement 
with  some  motion  picture  producer  for  the 
writing  and  destribution  of  theme  songs. 

Among  those  who  are  now  operating  un- 
der this  arrangement  are  De  Sylva,  Brown 
&  Henderson,  Inc.,  who  are  supplying  all 
the  theme  songs  to  the  William  Fox  pro- 
ductions. They  have  published  "Some  Day, 
Somewhere"  as  the  theme  to  the  "Red 
Dance,"  "Sally  of  My  Dreams,"  for  "Mother 
Knows  Best,"  "Marion"  for  the  "4  Devils," 
"Judy"  for  "Romance  of  the  Underworld," 
and  "My  Tonia"  as  the  theme  for  the  latest 
production  called  "In  Old  Arizona." 

Leo  Feist,  Inc.  are  also  the  publishers  of  "When 
the  Right  One  Comes  Along"  theme  of  Marriage  by 
Contract,"  and  "Lenora"  for  "The  Two  Lovers."  This 
firm  is  just  free  lancing  and  has  sufficient  prestige 
established  to  select  its  own  productions.  The 
Remick  Music  Corporation  are  also  the  publishers  of 
"Revenge"  the  latest  theme  song  for  Delores  Del 
Rio's  production  of  the  same  name,  and  "If  You 
Want  the  Rainbow,"  one  of  the  songs  featured  by 
Fanny  Brice  in  her  picture  "My  Man."  This  organi- 
zation is  also  picking  its  subjects  for  theme  songs 
Harms,  Inc.,  is  the  Big  Shot 

One  of  the  latest  reports  in  the  music  fields  is  the 
rumor  that  Irving  Berlin  in  association  with  Al  Jol- 
son, Warner  Brothers  and  United  Artists  will  publish 
all  future  theme  songs  for  the  productions  made  by 
the  last  two  named.  Donaldson,  Douglas  &  Gumble 
have  supplied  the  theme  to  "Warming  Up,"  a  Para- 
mount picture  called  "Out  of  the  Dawn."  Paramount 
Famous  Lasky  Corporation  have  formed  the  Famous 
Music  Corporation  with  Harms  Inc.  as  the  sole  sell- 
ing agent.  Remick  and  the  Donaldson  firm  are  an 
off-shoot  of  the  Harms  organization  and  in  all  prob- 
ability will  have  a  good  opportunity  to  supply  several 
theme  songs  for  the  Paramount  pictures.  It  is  also 
reported  around  town  that  Harms  has  also  an  in- 
terest in  De  Sylva,  Brown  &  Henderson  but  not 
enough  to  endanger  the  activities  or  connections  of 
that  company. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  have  acquired  the  Robbins 
Music  Corporation  with  a  catalog  of  standard  num- 
bers, but  have  made  no  definite  move  yet  as  to  their 
future  plans  on  theme  songs.  Sam  Fox  Publishing 
Company  have  an  arrangement  with  Paramount  and 
several  other  film  companies  for  the  scoring  as  well 
as  the  theme  songs.  So  far  they  have  supplied 
"Paradise"  for  the  "Wedding  March,"  "Wings"  for 
the  picture  called  "Wings,"  and  "Neapolitan  Nights" 
for  the  film  "Fazil,"  as  well  as  the  entire  musical 
score  for  "Abie's  Irish  Rose,"  soon  to  be  released 
as  a  Paramount  production. 

Although  the  above  do  not  comprise  the  entire 
list  of  important  music  publishers  they  are  never- 
theless the  ones  that  are  more  active  in  the  field  of 
theme  songs.  Just  as  the  talking  pictures  have  come 
to  be  a  part  of  the  motion  picture  business,  so  will 
the  theme  songs  become  an  important  part  of  the 
motion  picture  productions.  No  better  way  could  be 
had  for  a  quick  and  simultaneous  public  exploitation 
than  a  direct  tie-up  with  a  motion  picture  popular 
enough  to  play  hundreds  of  theatres  at  the  same 
time. 

Villa  Moret,  Inc.,  the  West  Coast  publishers,  can 
be  credited  with  starting  the  theme  song  craze  a 
number  of  years  ago  when  they  published  "Mickey," 
a  national  sensation  to  the  film  of  the  same  name. 


LOSAYS 

Someihind 
about 

Everyone 


Eddie  Meikel,  the  popular  featured  organist  at  the 
Harding  theatre,  Chicago,  has  sent  an  interesting 
letter  to  all  the  members  of  his  organ  club  in  order 
to  remind  them  of  the  annual  meeting.  Meikel  has 
aroused  considerable  interest  with  his  club  ideas  in 
the  past  three  years  and  his  name  at  this  theatre  is 
as  good  a  box  office  attraction  as  any  other  feature. 


GREETINGS!  .  .  .  Thank  heaven  that  the  holidays 
are  over  for  another  year.  .  .  .  That  is,  the  most  im- 
portant ones  like  Christmas  and  New  Year's.  .  .  .  Al- 
though I  should  not  complain  for  Santa  has  been 
very  good  to  me  this  year,  nevertheless  too  much  holi- 
day bores  one  don'tcha  know?  .  .  .  While  I  am 
in  the  act  of  thanking  I  also  want  to  thank  each 
and  everyone  who  sent  me  a  card  and  sincerely  hope 
that  1929  will  be  as  full  of  good  wishes  and  pros- 
perity for  all  of  you  as  you  have  wished  for  me. 
.  .  .  Before  dishing  out  the  weekly  scandal  let  me 
first  announce  that  Michigan  has  6ent  Mrs.  Miller  to 
a  living  death  when  its  law  sentenced  her  to  life  for 
selling  rum.  Thank  heavens  again,  that  we  live  in  a 
more  up-to-date  city  and  state.  .  .  .  Even  though  you 
read  about  "Bootleggers"  killing  each  other  every  day. 
Let  them  go  on  and  shoot  it  out  as  long  as  the  peo- 
ple are  not  hurt.  .  .  .  Speaking  of  bootleggers  two 
were  shot  to  death  the  other  night  in  the  Granada 
Cafe,  where  Guy  Lombardo  and  his  famous  Royal 
Canadian  band  play.  ...  At  the  time  this  thing  hap- 
pened Guy  was  broadcasting  "King  for  a  Day,"  whata 
break  for  Remick.  .  .  .  Well,  if  some  rival  beer-run- 
ner don't  get  hie  man,  maybe  the  "Flu"  will.  .  .  . 
At  least  if  would  be  a  more  decent  way  to  die.  .  .  . 
King  George  is  much  better,  60  the  papers  say,  now 
we  can  go  on  in  peace  and  read  something  of  real 
interest  about  our  own  people  and  our  own  coun- 
try. •  ■  •  The  papers  always  kick  up  a  fuss  about 
others  that  don't  mean  a  darn  thing  to  you  and  me. 
.  .  .  How  about  our  boys  who  fought  in  the  World 
War  who  are  dying  a  slow  but  sure  death  in  hospi- 
tals from  the  effects  of  that  terrible  battle!  .  .  .  No- 
body seems  to  get  alarmed  about  them.  .  .  .  Well, 
let's  go  on  with  our  own  business  and  let's  leave 
politics  and  such  to  those  who  are  more  versed  on 
the  subject  than  we  are.  .  .  .  Rob  Reel,  movie  critic 
of  the  Chicago  American  and  also  known  by  her 
right  name.  Hazel  Flynii,  is  back  at  her  desk  after 
a  month  of  Hollywooding.  .  .  .  Rob  visited  many  of 
the  leading  screen  stars  and  studios  and  has  some 
clever  dope  in  her  inkwell  to  dish  out  soon  from 
her  pen.  .  .  .  Word  comes  from  my  New  York  aide, 
E.  T.  Dawson  that  New  Year's  on  Broadway  was  just 
another  night.  .  .  .  He  also  reports  that  Sammy 
Kahn,  a  Chicago  band  leader  is  now  directing  the 
Everglades  Cafe  orchestra.  .  .  .  Hal  Sidare  is  now 
dancing  around  the  night  clubs  after  a  spell  of  pic- 
ture houses.  .  .  .  Sunshine  Sammy,  formerly  of  "Our 
Gang,"  is  now  completing  a  tour  of  Marcus  Loew 
theatres  and  will  soon  make  a  series  of  sound  shorts 
for  M  G  M.  .  .  .  Chaz  Chase  is  also  playing  the  Loew 
Circuit.  .  .  .  After  a  successful  engagement  at 
Saenger's,  in  New  Orleans ;  Jack  Stanley  is  now  do- 
ing his  M.  C.  duties  at  the  Century  theatre  in  Bal- 
timore. .  .  .  Billy  Randall  is  now  doing  time  for 
Loew  also,  it  seems  like  everyone  is  marking  time. 
.  .  .  We  hear  that  Publix  will  change  the  name  of 
their  West  Coast  house  from  the  Metropolitan  to 
Paramount.  .  .  .  Milton  Charles  may  become  its 
solo  organist.  ...  A  new  theatre  opened  in  Chicago 
last  week.  ...  It  is  called  the  Symphony  and  is  lo- 
cated on  Chicago  Avenue  at  Cicero.  .  .  .  Walter 
Flandorf  i6  the  featured  organist  at  the  new  Park 
Ridge  theatre.  .  .  .  Victor  Schertzinger,  the  movie  di- 
rector, has  written  a  theme  song  called,  "You  Are 
My  Melody  of  Love,"  for  the  Universal  picture 
called,  "The  Climax".  .  .  .  George  Olsen  has  stepped 
out  of  the  Ziegfeld  show,  "Whoopee"  and  is  now  head- 
lining for  the  Radio-Keith-Orpheum  Circuit  with  his 
orchestra.  .  .  .  Carme  Romano,  well  known  Chicago 
real  estate  and  theatrical  man  is  retaining  his  office 
at  the  Otis  Building  while  his  firm  is  now  at  100 
North  La  Salle  Street.  .  .  .  DeSylva,  Brown  &  Hen- 
derson, have  moved  their  New  York  stock  room  from 
745  Seventh  Avenue  to  145  West  45th.  .  .  .  More 
space  was  needed  to  comply  with  the  business  ex- 
pansion. .  .  .  Louis  Frohman,  formerly  musical  con- 
ductor of  the  Albee  theatre  in  Brooklyn,  is  now  at 
the  Flushing  theatre,  a  new  R  K  O  house  in  Flush- 
ing, Long  Island,  where  Bernard  Cowham  is  featuring 
organ  solos.  .  .  .  Do  you  know  that  the  Paul  Ash 
Club  founded  in  Chicago  three  years  ago  is  still  go- 
ing with  over  3,000  boosters.  .  .  .  Mary  Fuller  is 
president  and  Dorothy  Gulman  is  secretary.  .  .  . 
Joseph  Sampictro,  at  one  time  director  of  the  Co- 
lumbia theatre  orchestra  in  Portland,  Ore.,  is  now 
conductor  of  the  radio  program  over  station  KFEC. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


47 


From  Church  to  Theatre 
Organist,  Grierson's 
Record  Rise 

The  new  featured  organist  at  the  Palace  theatre  in 
Rochester.  New  York,  is  Tom  Grierson.  former  church 
organist  of  this  town.  Tom  just  concluded  a  year's 
engagement  at  Shea's  Buffalo  theatre. 

He  firet  became  popular  through  his  organ  recitals, 
which  have  been  broadcasted  over  the  Radio  Corpora- 
tion of  America  stations.  At  present  Grierson  is  also 
a  recording  organist  for  the  Wurlitzer  corporation 
company  and  has  ju6t  completed  a  series  of  records 
that  will  be  used  on  the  outdoor  organ  in  Roosevelt 
Park,  Los  Angeles.  Another  series  will  be  used  by 
Cecil  De  Mille  in  some  of  his  motion  picture  produc- 
tions for  atmosphere  emotions. 

Grierson's  training  in  the  musical  field  began  at  an 
early  age  in  England  under  the  tutorship  of  Sir 
Sidney  Nicholson,  the  famous  Westminster  Abbey 
organist  in  London. 


New  Theatre  Opens 
in  Chicago 

Another  deluxe  picture  house  made  its  bow  to  the 
Chicago  theatregoers  last  week  when  the  Symphony 
theatre,  at  Chicago  avenue  and  Cicero,  opened  its 
doors.  The  new  house  is  a  recent  addition  to  the 
new  firm  operating  under  the  name  of  the  United 
Theatres  Corporation  and  has  a  seating  capacity  of 
2,uuu. 

The  policy  of  the  house  will  be  first  run  pictures 
with  vaudeville.  The  Symphony  Serenaders  are  on 
the  stage  and  furnish  the  necessary  musical  accom- 
paniment. 


Presentation 

LETTERS 

In  this  open  forum  those  interested  in  presen- 
tation may  discuss  important  matters  bearing 
upon  this  phase  of  theatre  entertainment.  Only 
signed  letters  will  be  published. 


PRESENTATION  ACTS — To  the  Editor:  At  the 
Smoot  theatre  this  week  I  used  an  original  set  of 
slides  entitled.  "Miniatures  of  1928."  or  "The  Past 
Year  in  Song." 

Just  a  line  of  each  number's  chorus  was  used  up 
to  the  last  two  which  were  used  in  full.  Words 
were  shown  on  the  last  two  numbers  only,  the  other 
numbers  being  played  with  appropriate  slides  some- 
thing like  a  "remembering"  contest. 

The  numbers  used  were — "Back  in  Your  Own  Back- 
yard." "Kiss  and  Make  Up."  "Girl  of  My  Dreams." 
"Angela  Mia."  "My  Ohio  Home."  "Beloved."  'To- 
gether." "Sweet  Sue,"  "I  Can't  Do  Without  You." 
"Ramona."  "Constantinople,"  "You're  a  Real  Sweet- 
heart." "Was  It  a  Dream?"  "Laugh.  Clown.  Laugh." 
"Get  Out  and  Get  Under  the  Moon."  "Old  Man 
Sunshine,"  "That's  My  Weakness  Now."  "Jeannine. 
I  Dream  of  Lilac  Time,"  "There's  a  Rainbow  'Round 
My  Shoulder." 

Audience  6eemed  to  get  quite  a  kick  out  of  it.  I 
forgot  to  mention  that  the  songs  were  picked  as  the 
"hit"  songs  of  the  year  from  statistics  of  Berman's 
column  in  HERALD-WORLD. 

Best  regards  of  the  season  to  you.  and  a  success- 
ful year  to  you  and  the  HERALD-WORLD.  Sincerely. 
Wm.  J.  Cowdrey.  Parkersburg.  W.  Vs. 


SUNSHINE 
SAMMY 

Star  of 
"OUR  GANG" 

Signed  for 
Talking 
Short  M-G-M 
Films 

After 
Completion  of 
LOEW  TOUR 

Direction— Aba  I.  Felnberj 


Exhibitor     Puts  Over 
Film  with  Theme 
Song 

Manager  L.  Wagner  of  the  Rialto  theatre. 
Fort  Dodge,  Iowa,  displayed  a  good  sense  of 
press  agent ry  when  the  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 
special  "White  Shadows  in  the  South  Seas" 
played  his  house. 

He  arranged  to  have  the  theme  song  called 
"Flower  of  Love"  played  at  the  Firemen's 
benefit  dance,  which  was  attended  by  a  large 
audience.  The  song  was  sung  by  one  of  the 
firemen,  v  ho  also  made  an  announcement  that 
the  picture  was  playing  the  Rialto  theatre. 
Similar  announcements  were  also  made  at  two 
of  their  regular  dances  which  followed  this 
one. 

With  the  co-operation  of  the  music  stores, 
window  tie-ups  were  arranged  with  sheet  mu- 
sic and  records  displayed.  Two  thousand 
bookmarks  were  also  distributed  through  the 
public  library. 

A  mailing  list  of  over  500,  covering  teachers 
and  principals  in  the  public  schools,  were  also 
circularized.  Special  one-sheets  were  placed 
on  both  sides  of  the  busses  during  the  engage- 
ment oi  the  film. 

This  and  many  other  good  exploitation  stunts 
which  were  furnished  by  an  M  G  Bfl  publicity 
man  assisted  Wagner  in  putting  over  the 
South  Sea  islands  photoplay  in  first  order. 


Publix  Page  Boy  Is 
a  Fighting  Fool 

On  the  staff  of  the  Brooklyn  Paramount  theatre  is 
a  young  colored  man  named  Alfred  F.  Jones,  who  has 
been  with  the  Publix  interests  for  the  last  seven 
years.  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  do  not  know- 
much  about  Jones  we  will  give  a  few  inside  facts. 

For  the  first  three  years  he  was  chief  page  boy 
at  the  Rivoli  theatre  in  New  York,  later  going  to  the 
Rialto  in  a  similar  capacity,  and  before  coming  to 
the  Brooklyn  theatre  he  held  the  same  post  at  the 
Paramount  in  New  York. 

One  of  Jones'  chief  sports  is  boxing,  and  he  is 
responsible  for  training  the  Paramount  service  staff 
in  the  art  of  boxing.  He  has  twenty  fights  to  his 
credit,  of  which  he  has  won  all  of  them.  At  present 
the  young  man  is  chief  assistant  to  the  secretary  of 
the  managing  director  of  the  theatre. 


Australia  After  F  &  M 
Stage  Talent 

Word  is  received  from  the  vaudeville  booking  de- 
partment of  Fanchon  &  Marco  that  starting  in  Janu- 
ary several  theatres  in  Australia  on  the  Williamson 
circuit  will  be  supplied  with  F  &  M  acts. 

Doc  Howe,  in  charge  of  this  department,  will  have 
as  his  assistant  Phil  Frease,  formerly  of  the  Ben 
Levy  circuit.  J.  B.  Mueller,  representing  the  Aus- 
tralian interests,  is  now  completing  arrangements 
with  Mr.  Frease. 


Screen  Comic  on  Stage 

After  creating  quite  a  success  in  the  William  Fox 
comedy  "Plastered  in  Paris."  Sammy  Cohen,  the  star, 
is  now  making  personal  appearances  in  picture  houses 
and  will  open  an  eight  weeks*  engagement  for  Publix 
starting  January  1. 

Cohen  will  open  in  Chicago  for  Balaban  &  Katz 
in  a  specially  written  act  by  Lou  Breslau.  a  well 
known  Fox  w-riter.  After  hie  eight  weeks  in  presen- 
tation houses  Cohen  will  be  starred  in  a  Broadway 
Publix  unit. 


In  Person 


Buster  West,  the  young  man  who  almost  copped 
the  stellar  honors  in  the  last  George  White's  Scan- 
dals, is  the  star  attraction  this  week  at  the  Granada 


theatre,  Chicago.  Buster  is  assisted  by  John  West 
and  took  part  in  the  Charles  Kaley  New  Year  stage 
show.  This  is  the  beginning  of  a  new  series  of 
names  that  Marks  Brothers  will  present  to  Chicago 
theatregoers  during  1929. 


STAGE  SHOWS 


(Continued  from  page  45) 
fore  a  cathedral  window.  The  soft,  misty  light,  the 
brilliant  stained  glass  window,  the  dim  figure  and 
the  solemn  music  all  combined  to  make  a  most  effec- 
tive number.  As  the  scene  closed  the  window  was 
raised  and  angels  and  twinkling  stars  appeared  out- 
side as  the  choir  took  up  the  strains  of  music. 

The  curtain  rising  for  the  holiday  divertissement 
revealed  a  nursery,  centering  the  interest  of  the 
audience  on  a  huge  canopied  bed  on  the  stage,  with 
eight  heads  raised  expectantly  from  under  the  covers. 
They  proved  to  be  members  of  the  Stanley  Ballet, 
who  jumped  out  of  bed  and  danced  about  the  stage 
with  candles  in  search  of  gifts.  Santa  Claus  in  the 
person  of  Alexel  Robofsky  appeared  with  a  crash  of 
sleigh  bells  and  a  sack  of  toys,  which  were  distrib- 
uted. 

After  a  formal  dance  with  the  toy  the  Ballet 
seated  themselves  at  the  side  of  the  stage  as  Santa 
appeared  with  a  huge  sack,  from  which  hopped  a 
small  blond  girl  followed  by  a  brunette — The  Hudson 
Wonders.  And  they  were  wonders,  for  these  two 
children  brought  more  applause  than  any  other  fea- 
ture on  the  program.  They  were  full  of  pep  and 
vivacity  and  did  stunts  that  seemed  humanly  impos- 
sible, yet  all  were  done  with  a  grace  and  ease  that 
brought  a  storm  of  applause.  They  turned  somer- 
saults in  the  air.  they  bent  backwards  until  their 
heads  touched  the  floor,  standing  on  her  hands  one 
bent  backwards  until  her  feet  touched  the  floor,  then 
walked  on  hands  and  feet  across  the  stage  and  showed 
a  flexibility  and  skill  that  outdid  most  of  their  seniors 
in  acrobatic  feats. 

The  Lime  Trio  next  took  a  turn  at  entertaining. 
Two  men  dressed  in  blue  and  white  suits  appeared 
carrying  a  chest  which  they  opened  and  pulled  out 
what  was  apparently  a  life  size  colored  doll.  They 
stood  him  up,  knocked  him  down  and  shook  him  until 
the  audience  was  convinced  that  there  was  nothing 
but  rags  beneath  his  brilliant  red  suit.  They  put 
him  on  a  table  as  each  man  took  a  leg  and  moved 
in  opposite  directions,  while  his  legs  moved  a6  if 
they  were  on  pivots.  Finally  he  was  suspended  from 
an  iron  upright  and  did  a  jumping  jack  act  as  his 
assistants  pulled  the  strings.  As  they  left  the  stage 
he  pulled  the  mask  from  his  face,  revealing  a.  flesh 
and  blood  man.  though  the  audience  was  still  half  in 
doubt  whether  or  not  he  was. 

In  the  finale  Alexel  Robofsky  as  Santa  Claus  sang 
with  a  rich,  mellow  voice  as  sleigh  bells  jingled,  the 
Ballet  hopped  into  bed  and  the  curtains  were  drawn, 
leaving  the  audience  with  a  feeling  of  having  enjoyed 
a  thoroughly  satisfactotT  presentation. 


Pittsburgh  Penn 

Week  Ending  December  29 

The  stage  attraction  was  the  Publix  unit  Singer's 
Midgets  in  "Miniatures  of  192S."  A  score  of  midgets 
giving  a  little  revue,  in  which  the  tiny  performers 
offer  specialties  one  after  another  much  as  seen  on 
the  vaudeville  stage.  They  are  fully  as  capable  as 
artists  of  normal  size  and  their  program  includes 
comedy  and  song  and  other  features  of  a  well-bal- 
anced bill.  There  are  many  special  scenes,  and  the 
costumes  are  dazzling  and  diversified. 

One  scene  in  particular  scores  a  great  hit.  The  cur- 
tain rises  to  find  the  entire  company  scattered  about 
the  stage,  and  each  is  imitating  a  mechanical  doll  or 
toy.  Each  performer  is  slowly  going  through  his  or 
her  certain  motions  over  and  over  again,  and  the 
audience  bursts  into  applause  at  every  showing. 

In  the  grand  finals  three  well-trained  elephants  add 
a  big  punch  to  the  offering.  It  is  truly  a  delightful 
forty  minutes  for  grown-ups  as  well  as  children. 
The  concert  orchestra,  under  the  direction  of  Elias 
Breeskin,  renders  a  medley  of  Christmas  hymns. 


JOHNNY  PAYNE 

"The  Singing  Fool  Pianist" 

Now  Touring 

PUBLIX  THEATRES 

Direction  William  Morris  Agency 

48 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


New  York  Paramount 

Week  Ending  January  4 

Dave  Rubinoff,  famous  violinist  and  one  of  the  few 
personality  pit  directors,  offered  an  orchestral  pro- 
duction called  "Happy  New  Year."  In  this  a  scrim 
presentation  with  the  Paramount  Vocal  Ensemble 
singing  was  used. 

The  "Perfect  Girl,"  featuring  Helen  Macfadden, 
was  the  stage  offering.  Bennie  Krueger  made  his 
entrance  and  offered  an  explanation  of  the  show. 

Two  of  the  "Four  Cheerleaders"  then  did  a  tele- 
phone 6kit  that  was  pleasing.  Next,  a  rehearsal 
scene  with  the  Foster  Girls  dancing  and  singing  spe- 
cial lyrics  for  "The  Perfect  Girl."  A  "Syncopated 
Cocktail"  with  the  girle  shaking  the  cocktails  as 
Luella  Lee  danced  to  a  good  hand. 

Dave  Rubinoff,  entering  to  a  fine  hand,  next  played 
"I  Can't  Give  You  Anything  But  Love"  in  every 
manner  and  time  a  violin  can  be  played.  Dave  is 
a  favorite  here  (usually  he  takes  one  or  two  encores) . 
but  as  the  show  was  a  long  one  he  begged  off,  amid 
much  applause. 

Luella  Lee  followed  in  a  huge  fur  coat,  sane  and 
danced  pleasingly  to  that  new  rage,  "Doin'  the  Rac- 
coon." She  was  received  well.  The  Four  Cheerleaders 
followed  with  some  popular  tunes,  which  they  sang 
harmoniously  and  to  a  good  hand. 

Helen  Macfadden  and  the  Foster  Girls  next  offer 
some  "Setting  Up"  exercises  and  bag  punching  that 
was  well  done  and  received  generous  applause.  Joe 
Penner,  a  funny  fellow,  that  had  the  house  roaring 
at  his  gags  and  comedy  6inging,  received  a  good  hand. 
Helen  Macfadden  and  the  Foster  Girls  then  have  a 
race  on  "Pedometers,"  to  learn  who  is  the  "Perfect 
Girl."  The  Four  Cheerleaders  sang  "Perfect  Girl" 
as  ensemble  enters,  and  Helen  Macfadden  in  frame 
in  background  makes  a  pleasing  picture  that  closes 
this  show. 

Chicago  Chicago 

Week  Ending  December  28 

This  week  the  Chicago  theatre  celebrated  the  holi- 
day by  staging  an  elaborate  Christmas  festival  on  the 
stage.  The  stageshow  was  called  "The  Land  of 
Make  Believe"  and  had  over  sixty  people  in  the  cast, 
including  little  ones.  Several  scenes  from  fairyland 
and  childhood  were  reproduced  with  much  success  as 
entertainment  value. 

Among  the  cast  the  most  outstanding  in  individual 
performing  were  Shannon's  Playtime  Frolics,  a  nov- 
elty acrobatic  child  act,  and  Geraldine  and  Joe,  two 
little  tots  who  performed  like  regular  troupers.  One 
of  the  most  impressive  scenes  was  the  old  woman  in 
the  shoe. 

The  entire  show  was  practically  given  by  young 
folks  and  presented  every  conceivable  form  of  enter- 
tainment that  grown  artists  are  capable  of  perform- 
ing. The  hand  accorded  this  presentation  was  in 
evidence  of  its  full  appreciation  and  the  staging  was 
an  admirable  piece  of  work  on  the  part  of  the  theatre 
management. 

The  Chicago  Theatre  Symphony  Orchestra  pre- 
sented one  of  its  regular  orchestral  productions  in 
the  form  of  "Faust"  with  an  assembly  of  voices,  fea- 
turing Luela  Friertag,  a  capable  soprano.  This  was 
a  Spitalny  production  and  directed  by  one  of  his 
assistants. 


Detroit  Michigan 

Week  Ending  December  28 

And  we  hope  you  had  a  merry  one,  too! 

Of  course,  part  of  the  stageshow  at  the  Michigan 


this  week  had  to  be  devoted  to  Christmas  entertain- 
ment, particularly  for  the  kiddies. 

So  a  whole  gang  of  baby  stage  stars  was  imported 
for  an  extravaganza  entitled,  "In  King  Cole's  Court." 
Charles  Jolley,  Detroit's  favorite  tenor,  was  jolly  old 
King  Cole.  He  sang  a  song  as  introduction  and  then 
introduced  the  various  kiddies. 

The  children  in  the  cast  were  Baby  Dorothy,  Creigh- 
ton  Kids,  Bessie  Golden,  Hague  Tots,  Zivin  Twins 
and  Herby  Shea.  All  of  them  were  garbed  as 
characters  in  some  of  the  Mother  Goose  rhymes. 

Just  which  was  which,  as  far  as  names  go,  escaped 
this  reviewer,  so  we  will  list  them  by  their  char- 
acters. Feature  honors  went  to  Little  Boy  Blue,  who 
we  suspect  was  Herby  Shea.  A  youngster  of  about 
12  or  13,  that  little  man  could  hoof  and  also  sing. 
We  predict  he  will  make  his  mark  some  day. 

Jack  and  Jill  were  a  couple  of  clever  child  acro- 
bats, the  girl  particularly  entering  into  her  rough 
and  tumble  work  with  a  zest  that  brought  forth 
plenty  of  applause. 

Then  there  were  the  Zivin  Twins,  about  16  or  so, 
who  sang  close  harmony  nicely  and  indulged  in  some 
acrobatic  dancing  that  was  above  the  average  of  even 
some  adult  dancing  we  have  seen. 

The  stage  show  proper  was  Publix'  spectacular 
"Volcano."  The  Foster  Girls  had  one  particularly 
odd  and  attractive  dance,  in  which  they  were  garbed 
as  Totem  poles. 

Frank  Melino  &  Co.  disported  in  acrobatic  dances, 
a  little  nonsense  and  a  little  singing  and  got  a  nice 
hand.  Ted  and  Jack  Dale,  appearing  as  sailors  on 
leave,  also  did  some  nice  hoofing.  Not  to  forget 
Gil  Wray,  possessor  of  a  pleasing  voice. 


New  York  Capitol 

Week  Ending  January  4 

A  Mort  Harris  stage  presentation  called  "Mantilla" 
opened  to  a  beautiful  Spanish  garden  with  the  Capi- 
tolians  who  play  a  medley  of  tunes  as  Gertrude  Lang 
and  Forrest  Farnall  sing  and  twenty-one  Chester  Hale 
Girls  dance. 

Dave  Schooler,  master  of  ceremonies  and  pianist, 
came  on  next  and  offered  a  medley  of  Spanish  and 
Italian  numbers  which  were  very  well  received. 

King  and  King,  late  of  "Artists  and  Models,"  per- 
form some  original  and  clever  tap  steps  that  received 
a  good  hand.  Chester  Hale's  thirty-two  girls  next  did 
a  cute  routine. 

Dave  Schooler  then  sang  a  Spanish  comedy  song, 
with  all  the  boys  also  singing  bits.  As  6ix  of  the 
boys  sing  and  dance,  Dave  and  one  of  the  boys  do  a 
comedy  dance  that  was  well  liked. 

Bob  Nelson  sang  two  or  three  comedy  songs,  with 
gags  intermingled  that  were  really  funny,  and  also 
earned  him  an  encore.  Manning  and  White,  world 
famed  comedy  dancers,  offered  a  comedy  dance  that 
was  slow  and  forced  and  did  not  click  with  this 
audience. 

A  picturesque  finale  with  senoritas  strolling  and 
Livie  Marracci,  the  Italian  international  beauty  con- 
test winner,  being  lowered  from  the  fly  gallery  as 
she  sang  delightfully,  closed  this  show. 


Brooklyn  Paramount 

Week  Ending  December  28 

This  marks  the  fifth  week  of  Paul  Ash  as  master 
of  ceremonies  here,  and  this  weeks  6how  opened  with 
John  Murray  Anderson's  "Magic  Rug."  A  prologue 
of  "Crystal  Gazing,"  in  which  Burns  and  Kissen  got 
many  laughs,  began  the  series,  then  an  "Oriental 
Silhouette  Fantasy"  followed,  in  which  the  Foster 
Girls  offered  the  "Silhouette."  Harry  Johnson  sang 
"Pale  Hands." 


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Curtain  rose  to  Oriental  setting,  with  Paul  Ash 
as  the  Rajah  of  Jazz  and  his  slave,  George  Dewey 
Washington.  Ash  surely  has  made  a  hit  at  this  house 
since  he  opened  it. 

A  band  tune,  "The  Magic  Rug,"  which  the  boys 
played  very  well,  was  next.  There  are  few  bands 
in  the  country  that  can  surpass  this  one  for  hot 
music.  Gordon  and  King  again  received  a  good  hand 
for  their  tap  dancing.  Paul  Small  sang  an  introduc- 
tory song  as  the  Foster  Girls  in  beautiful  costumes 
did  a  routine.  Emilie  and  Romaine  made  a  very 
spectacular  entrance  from  the  fly  gallery,  seemingly 
flying  across  the  stage  on  a  magie  rug.  They  then 
offered  some  fine  adagio  and  acrobatic  dancing  that 
received  a  very  fine  hand. 

Burns  and  Kissen  next  6ang  comedy  songs  that 
stopped  the  show  and  forced  them  to  take  two  en- 
cores and  to  beg  off  on  the  third.  George  Dewey 
Washington,  one  of  the  few  who  could  follow  the 
above  act,  followed  with,  "Laugh,  Clown,  Laugh" 
and  an  encore  of  "Down  Where  the  Sun  Goes  Down," 
in  which  he  interpolated  "Sundown."  He  earned 
another  encore. 

The  show  closed  with  Paul  Ash  leading  the  boys 
in  a  special  arrangement  of  "Rhapsody  in  Blue." 
This  was  a  fine  show  and  a  great  improvement  since 
it  played  at  the  Paramount  in  New  York. 


Kansas  City  Pantages 

Week  Ending  December  28 

Goldman's  Midget  Follies  was  given  a  prominent 
position  on  the  stage  program  at  the  Pantages.  The 
number  consisted  of  just  about  everything  that  could 
be  included  in  a  revue — vocal,  dancing  and  acrobatic 
numbers. 

The  company  of  fifteen  tiny  individuals  presented 
its  act  pretty  much  on  the  order  of  the  "master  of 
ceremonies"  type  and  went  over  good  with  large 
audiences  all  week. 

Brady  and  Mahoney  have  a  Dutch  comedy  dialogue 
number  that  fits  into  the  program  in  a  timely  man- 
ner. The  Aalbu  Sisters  and  Carter  have  a  dancing 
act  comprised  of  various  types  of  dances,  intermin- 
gled with  song  numbers. 

The  Stanley  Brothers  and  Attree,  billed  as  "Con- 
tinental Aerial  Sensations,"  have  an  acrobatic  and 
aerial  number  that  is  a  bit  out  of  the  ordinary  insofar 
as  ability  of  the  cast  is  concerned. 

Louie  Charninsky  and  his  Pantages  orchestra  ren- 
der popular  selections  as  the  overture. 


New  Orleans  Saenger 

Week  Ending  December  28 

With  applause  that  shook  the  theatre  Ben  Black, 
personality  leader,  was  welcomed  back  to  New  Orleans 
Saturday  with  one  of  the  best  Publix  shows  of  the 
season,  which  even  the  most  chronic  grouch  could 
find  no  fault  with.  For  "Step  This  Way"  is  a  wow 
from  any  angle  the  spectator  may  happen  to  view  it. 

An  innovation,  new  to  us,  of  course,  is  a  fifty-fifty 
chorus,  six  strikingly  handsome  Foster  Girls  and  six 
of  the  opposite  sex,  the  Foster  Boys,  to  be  explicit, 
who  danced,  with  perfect  rhythm,  knew  how  to  wear 
their  clothes  and  seemed  at  home  in  front  of  the 
audience — something  that  many  of  the  choruses  of 
the  early  part  of  the  season  seemed  entirely  ignor- 
ant of. 

The  Four  Dictators,  a  quartette,  which  Ben  Black 
rehearsed  himself  in  New  York,  sang  beautifully  with 
and  without  music  and  scored. 

Bee  Sarche,  featured  as  a  blue  singer,  was  all  the 
press  department  claimed. 

Frances  Wills  is  some  dancer  and  her  acrobatic 
stunts  were  particularly  pleasing,  especially  to  those 
of  the  masculine  gender  who  are  beginning  to  count 
the  hairs  on  the  top  of  their  heads. 

The  hit  of  the  show,  however,  from  the  angle  of 
amusement,  was  Bob,  Bob  and  Bobbie  (the  latter  a 
dog),  who  did  some  very  clever  comedy  juggling — 
Bobbie  is  just  as  good  as  either  Bob  or  Bob,  though 
he  receives  probably  a  much  smaller  salary,  and  as 
he  has  no  domestic  expenses  it  is  probably  just  as 
well,  even  at  that.  Bob  and  Bob  coaid  improve  their 
act  if  they  would  dump  the  tramp  rags,  get  a  clean 
shave  and  look  like  Christians — the  ladies  would  take 
more  kindly  to  them. 

Lottice  Howell  sang  "Same  Silver  Moon,"  which 
was  really  better  than  many  of  the  features  that  ap- 
peared on  the  Tulane  stage  in  the  past  few  years. 
Miss  Howell  received  several  encores. 

Ben  Black  introduced  to  New  Orleans  his  latest 
song  success,  "Buds  That  Bloom  in  the  Night,"  with 
full  stage  band  accompaniment,  assisted  by  John 
Hammond  at  the  organ. 

Don  Philippini  arranged  a  program  of  Christmas 
carols  which  were  well  received  all  the  week.  One 
special  scene  was  a  choir  boy  at  the  entrance  of  a 
church  in  full  vestments  rendering  a  special  number. 
Taken  all  in  all.  the  Don's  arrangements  were  very 
appropriate. 


UNIFORMS  T™E  COSTUMES  fP^S™  BROOKS  iff. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


49 


00i 


i  » 


UP 


When  Messrs.  Balaban  and  Katz  "invented"  the 
idea,  of  putting  such  things  as  masters  of  cere- 
monies in  their  houses  in  Chicago  some  four  years 
ago,  they  sure  did  start  something.  Since  this  ad- 
vent there  is  hardly  a  first  run  house  in  the  coun- 
try without  one  today.  But  what  I  really  started 
out  to  tell  you  is  that  on  a  recent  visit  to  New 
York,  Jack  Stanley,  who  mastered  the  ceremonies  at 
the  Saenger  theatre  in  New  Orleans,  got  to  talking 
with  me  about  his  various  experiences,  and  a  little 
story  he  told  me  made  such  a  lingering  impres- 
sion, I  made  him  sit  down  and  put  it  in  writing, 
so  here's  the  story  exactly  as  Jack  Stanley  told  it 
to  me: 

9      •  • 

"My  first  impression  started  with  'imagination'  as 
I  boarded  a  train  out  of  Chicago  for  points  south. 
First,  I  wondered  who  would  meet  my  train  and 
extend  the  welcome  of  the  city  to  me.  Arriving 
in  town  I  found  no  one  at  the  station  to  greet  me. 
and  had  to  walk  the  streets  of  that  particular  city 
for  three  hours  in  a  drizzling  rain  before  I  found 
accommodations.  After  finally  locating  the  man- 
ager of  the  theatre,  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  where 
I  could  get  an  apartment  and  he  kindly  informed  me. 
or  rather  cautioned  me.  not  to  sign  up  for  an  apart- 
ment until  I  found  out  how  the  people  of  the  town 
would  take  to  me.  So  with  that  glorious  welcome 
I  had  to  sing  a  song  at  thirty  performances  that 
week — just  to  tell  the  good  folks  in  that  town  how 
happy  I  was  to  be  there. 

"After  I  was  there  about  three  days,  the  manager 
used  to  come  back  stage  after  almost  every  per- 
formance and  use  the  bromidic  phrase,  'If  youH 
pardon  the  suggestion,  Mr.  Stanley,  your  style  of 
work  may  be  a  riot  up  north,  but  we  are  Southern- 
ers here  and  want  things  this  way !'  By  the  end  of 
two  or  three  weeks  of  'If  you'll  pardon  the  sugges- 
tions,' most  of  my  thoughts  of  'impressions'  were 
"What  am  I  not  going  to  do  or  say  now!"  By  the 
time  you  memorize  what  not  to  do  or  say  during  a 
show,  your  6how  is  over  and  you're  wondering  what 
it's  all  about,  and  after  one  of  these  shows,  the 
manager  will  come  back  stage  to  my  dressing  room 
and  tell  me  that  that  show  was  marvelous,  if 
youll  only  work  like  that  always  you'll  be  another 
Paul  Ash— poor  Paul ! 

•  »  • 

"Then  after  you  wear  your  welcome  out  in  that 
forlorn  town,  you  are  given  to  understand  you  are 
to  be  transferred  to  another  place — and  the  same 
thing  happens  all  over  again.  The  new  manager 
tells  you  that  they  do  things  much  better  than  in 
the  previous  town  and  after  another  'Hello  Every- 
body, I'm  Glad  to  Be  Here'  song,  the  time  soon 
flies  by  and  you're  thinking  of  your  'Good  Bye, 
Folks,  It  Breaks  My  Heart  to  Leave  You'  song,  so 
I  ask  you,  what's  the  answer? 

•  •  • 

"At  every  rehearsal,  after  having  worked  vo-do-de-o 
songs  with  heaps  of  personality  girls,  one  will  come 
up  to  you  and  say :  'So-and-So  worked  this  number 
with  me  last  week  in  Oshkosh  this  way — Will  you 
do  it  for  me?  You  know  it  really  helps  me  go 
over.'  Well,  you  just  can't  refuse — if  you  do  it 
right  for  her  the  act  might  make  you  a  big  6hot 
socially.  The  song  was  new  when  the  unit  started 
out,  but  if  one  is  a  master  of  ceremonies  in  a 
town  near  the  end  of  forty  weeks  he'll  still  find  her 
using  the  same  song. 

•  *  • 

"Then  there's  the  line  girls.  After  every  show 
each  one  will  tell  you  "That  last  dance  tempo  was 
just  a  little  shade  too  slow"  or  too  fast — it  will  de- 
pend how  they  feel.  Maybe  the  party  was  too 
rough  the  night  before — or  what  have  you  ?  Occa- 
sionally you  get  a  really  nice — by  that  I  mean — 
sweet  and  lovely — all  tempos  suit  them  always — 
bunch  of  girls.  They  carry  little  autograph  books 
and  want  you  to  write  something  nice  and  cute  in 
them.  What  can  one  write  in  a  book  such  as  that 
when  all  faces  look  alike?  Trying  to  get  an  idea  of 
what  the  previous  fellows  wrote  in  these  books,  you 
6ee  such  remarks  as  'May  you  never  fall  out  of  bed 
laughing,'  etc.,  etc.,  etc.  So  by  the  end  of  the 
week,  when  all  tempos  suit  them  all.  you  are  get- 
ting ready  for  another  unit — and  so  it  goes  on  for 
weeks  and  weeks  endlessly — 

•  •  * 

"You're  probably  cuckoo  by  now,  reading  all  this 
— and  I  know  what  you're  thinking — 'This  guy  Stan- 
ley wants  an  extra  edition  of  the  EXHIBITORS 
HERALD-WORLD  printed  for  his  impressions.'  " 

JACK  STANLEY. 


ORGAN  SOLOS 


Edward  K.  House  (Chicago  Uptown)  presented  a 
special  Christmas  solo  with  lyrics  written  to  the  tune 
of  "King  for  a  Day"  and  other  popular  tunes.  After 
flashing  Santa  and  a  Christmas  tree  slide.  House  ex- 
plains to  the  audience  that  the  best  present  he  can 
give  them  is — and  then  the  following  songs  emerged 
from  the  organ :  "I  Can't  Give  You  Anything  but 
Love,"  "Jeannine,"  "Rainbow  'Round  My  Shoulder," 
"Here's  That  Party"  and  "Dream  Train."  House 
sang  the  last  number,  and  for  some  reason  or  other 
his  voice  lacked  the  volume  that  it  usually  has.  but 
the  solo  nevertheless  received  a  very  good  hand. 


Kmnrth  T.  Wright  (Menominee.  Mich..  Lloyd's) 
used  an  interesting  selection  of  songs  to  the  Tiffany- 
Stahl  color  symphony.  "In  a  Persian  Market-"  A 
classic  composed  by  Ketelby  of  the  same  name  was 
used  as  the  theme  throughout  the  film  and  the  organ 
music  supplied  many  interesting  movements  to  the 
beauty  of  the  film. 


Harold  Daniels  (Buckingham  Chicago)  offered  a 
straight  solo  called  "A  Christmas  Vision."  It  con- 
tained all  of  the  well  known  Chritsmas  carols.  A 
high-light  of  Daniels'  offering  came  at  the  finish  of 
the  solo  when  two  small  Christmas  trees,  on  either 
side  of  the  organ,  suddenly  lighted  up,  and  this, 
combined  with  the  beauty  of  the  console  decorated 
in  silver  and  holly  leaves,  brought  forth  a  storm 
of  applause.  Daniels  then  played  two  popular  songs, 
"Sweethearts  on  Parade"  and  "I  Can't  Give  You 
Anything  But  Love"  ;  his  audience  sang  with  great 
enthusiasm,  as  they  always  do  for  this  organist. 
The  entire  offering  was  put  over  in  deluxe  6tyle, 
and  is  one  of  the  reasons  for  this  young  man's  in- 
creasing popularity  in  the  field  of  solo  organ  play- 
ing. 


Dick  Liebert  (Pittsburgh.  Pa..  Penn)  featured  a 
novelty  which  suggested  to  the  audience  that  all  he 
cared  for  in  the  way  of  a  gift  was  applause.  Also 
introduced  "Roses  of  Yesterday." 


Preston  Sellers  i  Chicago  Oriental).  This  week 
the  merry  chap  Preston  called  his  solo.  "Merry  Christ- 
mas" because  it  was  Christmas  week.  One  thing 
that  is  noticeable  about  Sellers  is  he  always  choses 
a  selection  of  fine  songs.  After  the  announcement 
was  flashed  on  the  screen  that  the  stage  show  was 
to  begin.  Sellers  was  called  back  for  an  encore. 
His  popularity  at  this  show  was  nearly  100  per  cent. 


Jesse  Crawford  (New  York  Paramount).  In  keep- 
ing with  the  holiday  spirit  Crawford  used  an  en- 
larged Santa  Claus  as  the  background  for  his  slides. 
He  offered  only  two  numbers  in  his  concert  this 
week,  but  they  were  very  well  played  and  received 
their  due  response  from  the  audience.  These  num- 
bers were  "A  Precious  Little  Thing  Called  Love" 
and  Walter  Donaldson's  new  hit,  "In  a  Little  Town 
Called  Home.  Sweet  Home."  in  the  last  one  he 
interpolated  "Home.  Sweet  Home." 


Bernard  Cow  ham  i  Flushing.  Flushing.  N.  Y.). 
Bemie's  dynamic  personality  has  caused  a  town  that 
has  never  had  community  singing  to  sing  as  if 
they  had  been  doing  it  for  years.  Cowham's  first 
stunt  was  called  "Hello  Flushing"— and  with  the  use 
of  special  lyrics  he  introduced  himself  and  com- 
munity singing  here.  first  number,  which  was 
well  played,  was  "Sonny  Boy."  A  few  sang,  but 
they  were  a  little  shy.  The  second  number,  "Let 
Me  Call  You  Sweetheart."  which  he  asked  the  girls 
to  sing,  was  better.  "Old  Man  Sunshine"  had  every 
one  in  the  house  singing  (even  this  reporter). 
Bernie  is  one  of  those  few  organists  whose  play- 
ing and  personality  grows  on  one,  and  at  this  show 
caught  (his  third  day)  the  town  is  already  talking 
very  favorable  of  him. 


Ralph  Co  pel  and  (Loew's  Prospect.  Flushing.  N.  Y.) 
played  a  beautiful  ballad  called  "Dream  Girl"  as 
a  straight  solo,  this  week.  Copeland  has  long  been 
a  favorite  here,  and  after  listening  to  his  fine  play- 
ing, it  is  easy  to  see  why.  Incidently,  W.  L.  Nolan, 
manager  of  this  house,  is  the  composer  of  this  fine 
number. 


Henry  B.  Murtagh  (Brooklyn  Paramount).  Called 
his  solo  this  week  "New  Year's  Resolutions."  He 
first  used  special  lyrics  on  "Auld  Lang  Syne."  then 
played  "I  Can't  Give  You  Anything  But  Love"  and 
finished  with  "Rainbow  Round  My  Shoulder."  with 
a  special  version  on  the  last  chorus.  Everybody 
sang  and  he  received  a  fine  hand. 


sqncs 


BEST  SELLERS 

"Sonny  Boy" — (DeSyha,  Brown  &■ 
Henderson). 

"There's  a  Rainbow  'Round  My 
Shoulder" — (Irving  Berlin). 

"Sweethearts  on  Parade" — (Milton 
Weil). 

"Where  the  Shy  Little  Violets  Grow" 
— (Remick  Corp.). 

"You're  the  Cream  in  My  Coffee" — 
(DeSyha,  Brown  &  Henderson). 

"Jeanine,  I  Dream  of  Lilac  Time" — 
(Leo  Feist). 

"Me  and  the  Man  in  the  Moon" — 
(Donaldson,  Douglas  &  Gumble). 

"I'm  Sorry,  Sally" — (Leo  Feist). 

"Doing  the  Raccoon" — (Remick  Music 
Corp.). 

"I'll  Get  By"— (Irving  Berlin). 

"Avalon  Town" — (Sherman  Clay). 

"Sally  of  My  Dreams"— (DeSyha, 
Brown  &  Henderson). 

"I  Can't  Give  You  Anything  But 
Love"— (Mills  Music). 

"Thafs  How  I  Feel  About  You"— 
(DeSyha,  Brown  &  Henderson). 

"Happy  Days  and  Lonely  Nights" — 
(Ager,  Yellen  &  Bernstein). 

I  CAN'T  GET  ENOUGH  OF  YOU— (Spier  &  Cos- 
low,  Inc.) — A  fox  trot  ballad  though  not  new  will 
make  a  good  orchestra  number.    By  Sam  Gold. 

SWEETHEART  OF  ALL  MY  DREAMS — (  I  Love 
You,  Etc) — (Shapiro-Bernstein) — An  old  fashioned 
ballad  idea  of  the  type  that  was  very  popular  in 
its  day.  also  with  this  publisher.  This  song  has  a 
good  chance  of  reviving  that  type  of  ballad.  By  Art 
Fitch.  Kay  Fitch  and  Bert  Lowe. 

•    •  • 

WONT  YOU  TELL  ME.  HON?— <  When  We're 
Gonna  Be  Onei —  Remick  Music  Corp.) — Tcree  great 
writers  collaborated  on  this  song  and  have  written 
an  excellent  number.  Will  be  heard  from  real  quick. 
Lyric  by  Lewis  and  Young,  music  by  Harry  Warrem. 


YOU'RE  JUST  A  LITTLE  BIT  OF  EVERYTHING 
I  LOVE — (Mills  Music  Inc.  — A   to:  -  iieer- 

up  and  lone  song,  with  a  good  fox  trot  melody. 
Being  featured  by  one  of  the  composers.  Jay  C.  Flip- 
pen,  the  well  known  vaudeville  and  musical  comedy 
star.    Co- writers  Mack  Gordon  and  Geo.  D.  WIest. 

•  t  • 

EVER  SINCE  THE  MOVIES  LEARNED  TO  TALK 
— (Shapiro-Bernstein) — A  comedy  song  that  is  being 
used  by  Eddie  Cantor  as  an  interpolated  number  in 
New  York's  biggest  hit.  Whoopee.  Has  some  very 
funny  lines.  By  Walter  O'Keefe.  Bobby  Nolan  and 
Jimmy  Cavanaugh. 

•  •  * 

LET'S  DO  IT  (Let's  Fall  in  Love> — Harms,  Inc.) 

— This  is  the  hit  song  of  the  Irene  Bordoni  musical 
comedy  entitled  Paris,  now  current  in  the  east. 
Lyrics  and  music  by  Cole  Porter. 

•  •  • 

MY  BROADWAY  RACKETEER — (Donaldson.  Doug- 
las &  Gamble) — This  song  is  written  about  a  well 
known  book  of  the  same  name.  Reminds  one  of 
My  Man  and  is  really  a  clever  piece  of  work.  Also 
looks  commercial.  By  Jimmy  Monaco  and  Edgar 
Leslie. 

•  •  a 

MARIE — (Irving  Berlin) — Anything  Irving  Berlin 
writes  commands  attention.  This,  his  first  theme 
song,  is  already  jumping  into  the  best  sellers.  Writ- 
ten for  the  United  Artists  feature.  "The  Awakening." 
By  Irving  Berlin. 

«    •  • 

SLEEPY  VALLEY— (Harms,  Inc.) — A  lyric  that 
classes  with  the  best.  It's  really  beautiful  and  the 
melody  is  on  a  par  with  this  classy  lyric.  Will  take 
a  little  time  to  make  bat  has  lasting  quality.  Lyric 
by  Andrew  Sterling.    Music  by  James  F.  Han  ley. 


50 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


w 


THE  THEATRE 


Your  Suggestions  Are  Invited  on  Ads 


A  new  service  to  exhibitors  is  launched  in  this  issue  by  "The  Theatre.'''  You 
already  are  helping  one  another  through  this  department  in  many  directions — 
by  the  House  Organ  Exchange  and  the  interchange  of  ideas  it  affords,  through 
the  publication  of  your  letters  telling  how  you  have  put  over  certain  pictures, 
through  reproduction  of  newspaper  ads  which  you  have  used,  and  in  countless 
other  directions.  Now  comes  the  new  service,  in  which  you  may  share  if  you  so 
desire. 


Frequently  the  department  is  asked  by 
its  readers  to  comment  on  advertisements 
and  various  ideas  submitted  for  just  that 
purpose.  That  comment  the  department 
gladly  and  sincerely  gives,  and  if  each  page 
contains  only  one  helpful  suggestion  we 
think  it  still  has  accomplished  something, 
though  we  are  not  satisfied  with  that,  of 
course.  But  we  believe  that  even  more  can 
be  achieved  if  we  all  participate  in  offering 
comments. 

*    *  * 

We  take  for  granted  that  each  ex- 
hibitor will  welcome  any  suggestions 
presented  by  fellow-exhibitors.  That's 
the  essence  of  the  department,  or 
rather  half  of  the  essence,  because  we 
all  are  operating  on  a  principle  that 
by  helping  others  we  in  turn  will  be 
helped  by  them. 

From  time  to  time,  and  only  as  proposed 
by  the  one  who  sends  in  the  subject  matter, 
we  will  reproduce  a  newspaper  ad  or  other 
paper,  offer  our  own  comment  as  requested, 
and  follow  up  by  printing  the  suggestions 
which  you  yourselves  offer.  You  all  are 
keeping  a  file  of  "The  Theatre,"  of  course. 
At  least,  most  of  you  are,  judging  from  let- 
ters received.  When  an  exhibitor's  com- 
ment is  printed,  reference  will  be  made  to 
the  preceding  issue  in  which  the  original 
copy  appeared.  Thus  you  easily  can  refer 
to  your  file  and  compare  notes.  It  is  im- 
portant, as  a  time  saver,  that  you  refer  to 
the  issue  in  question  when  you  send  in  your 
comment. 

Tyas  Asks  Suggestions 

All  set?  All  right,  then,  let's  go.  This 
is  possibly  a  bit  unorthodox  to  start  with 
the  accompanying  copy,  in  that  it  will  be  a 
bit  of  a  surprise  to  its  author,  P.  E.  Tyas, 
manager  of  the  Liberty  theatre,  Amherst- 
burg,  Ontario,  in  that  he  has  not  been 
warned  of  this  new  departure.  However, 
we  feel  certain  not  only  that  we  are  violat- 
ing no  confidence  but  also  that  Tyas  will 
welcome  this  move. 


"We  are  regular  readers  of  all  the 
'Herald-World'  columns,"  writes  Tyas, 
"especially  'The  Theatre,'  from  which 
we  derive  many  pointers  and  helps  in 
various  ways. 

"With  this  letter  we  are  enclosing 
a  clipping  of  our  Christmas  advertise- 
ment and  would  be  glad  to  have  you 
criticize  it,  from  every  angle.   As  is 


JOY  WEEK 


FRIDAY— SATURDAY 


DECEMBER  21—22 


JACK  HOLT,  the  premier  of  western  atara.  reappear*  in  a  power- 
ful atory  of  the  vanishing  weat. 


m    ZANE GREYS 


Matine-  Ctmatma*  2.30 
CAPTIVATING 

MARION  DAVIES 

—  IN  — 

b«r   rollicking,  frolicking 
Comedy— 

"The  Cardboard  Lover" 

Ideal  Hol.day  B1U 

With 

SPECIAL  COMEDY  AND  SELECTED  NOVELTIES 


WEDNESDAY— THURSDAY 


DECEMBER  26— 27  »g 


Romance  on  the  doclu  of  'Frl.eo  with  too  tonf  of  Ike  lea  to 
•pice  it. — A  ikanehaied  jirl  turn,  the  table,  oo  a  jolly  Jack. 
Maby  a  itormy  wind  will  blow  before  you  sec  another  hit  a*  big  at 

Waterfront 

DOROTHY  i^fSS  1  JACK 


SPECIAL  SHORT  SUBJECTS 


Y.u,  cp  .f  i.y  hi  k.  iiM  .o  HAROLD  LLOYD 

the  brim 


Neil  FRIDAY— SATURDAY 


the  case  with  most  small  town  ex- 
hibitors, we  are  somewhat  hampered 
with  having  a  small  town  paper  and 
also  a  week's  program  to  advertise, 
which  cramp  individuality. 

"Any  suggestions  you  make  will  be 
welcomed.     Wishing  you  continued 
success   with  your  very  interesting 
column  in  a  very  interesting  paper." 
Now  then,  folks,  cast  your  eye  on  the 
ad  on  this  page.    In  one  respect  this  is  a 
rather  unfortunate  choice  for  a  starter,  be- 
cause taking  into  acount  the  two  handicaps 
mentioned  by  Tyas,  there  is  little  in  the 
way  of  suggestion  to  offer.    We  like  the 
border  and  particularly  the  separation  of 
the  two  black  matrices,  in  addition  to  the 
generous  use  of  white  space. 

Italic  Type  Would  Help 

We  believe  the  type  selection  could  have 
been  bettered.  For  example,  we  note  there 
is  not  one  line  of  italic  type  in  the  entire 
ad.  There  could  have  been  changes  to  italic 
type  that  would  have  set  off  the  ad  consid- 
erably. We  feel  confident  that  the  printer 
who  set  up  the  ad  has  at  least  some  italic 
type,  very  likely  in  the  families  of  type 
used.  One  place  in  particular  that  italic 
would  have  helped  is  in  the  line  "Comedy 
.  .  Eagles  of  the  Night,  Chap.  6."  We  take 
it  that  the  rule  above  that  line  was  on  the 
mat,  though  of  course  that  could  have  been 
routed  off. 

But  the  chief  point  is  that  this  line  is  in 
the  same  size  and  type  as  the.;next  line 
which  announces  the  change  of  "  program. 
In  reading  newspaper  ads  we  all  have  been 
struck  so  often  with  the  fact  that  the  vari- 
ous programs  are  not  separated.  That  be- 
comes confusing  to  the  reader  and  patron. 

Now  then,  what  do  the  rest  of  us  think 
about  it?  Tyas  and  "The  Theatre"  both 
welcome  your  comment. 


NO  ADVANCE  IN  PRICES. 


Telegram  on  Censors 

Puts  Over  "Red  Dance" 

Manager  R.  S.  Roddick  of  the  Capitol 
theatre  at  London,  Ontario,  in  exploiting 
"The  Red  Dance"  used  three  column  space 
for  the  reproduction  of  the  following  tele- 
gram from  D.  O.  Byrne,  booker  in  the 
Toronto  film  exchange: 

"If  Dolores  Del  Rio's  new  picture  'The  Red  Dance' 
is  released  without  cutting  by  board  you  will  have  it 
for  London  to  open  Monday,  December  17,  exactly 
as  shown  in  New  York  with  complete  sound  and 
music  accompaniment.  Doubtful,  however,  if  it  will 
be  passed  without  cutting.  If  they  cut  it,  then  it 
cannot  be  shown  as  a  sound  picture.  Picture  rather 
daring,  so  be  careful  in  advertising.  If  it  gets 
through  complete  it  will  be  the  best  possible  bet  to 
bring  in  pre-Christmas  crowds,  as  picture  is  splendid 
romance  of  strong  drama,  big  scenes,  luxurious  set- 
tings and  packed  with  action  and  great  thrills  from 
start  to  finish.  Original  advertising  held  by  Customs 
as  too  hot  for  Ontario,  but  am  rushing  you  special 
material  from  our  own  studios  which  will  have  to 
do.  Will  advise  tomorrow  if  picture  gets  past  board. 
Regards." 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


51 


Police  Chief  Host 
To  3,000 Children 
At  Theatre  Party 

More  than  3,000  pupils  of  the  Indianapolis 
public  and  parochial  schools  were  guests  of 
Claude  M.  Worley,  chief  of  police,  recently 
at  the  Palace  theatre.  The  party  was  given 
particularly  for  members  of  the  Indian- 
apolis school  patrol  and  other  pupils  who 
wrote  in  response  to  an  appeal  for  im- 
proved safety  conditions  among  children  in 
the  city.  The  appeal  was  made  in  radio 
talks. 

The  theatre  party  was  arranged  through 
the  courtesy  of  Wallace  Allen,  manager  of 
the  theatre.  Three  Movietone  vaudeville 
acts,  an  "Our  Gang"  comedy  reel  and  a 
news  reel  were  shown.  Lester  Huff,  organ- 
ist, gave  a  special  program  of  interest  to 
children. 


'  'Human  Fly 9  9  Exploits 
(6Tarzan 99  Chapterplay 

When  Manager  George  Stevens  at  the 
Willoby  theatre,  Willoughby,  Ohio,  booked 
Universal's  "Tarzan  the  Mighty,"  he  planned 
to  step  and  get  all  the  money  the  serial  was 
entitled  to.  The  master  move  in  his  campaign 
was  the  hiring  of  a  "human  fly"  who,  dressed 
in  a  huge  ape  suit,  climbed  the  front  of  the 
theatre,  all  the  high  trees  in  town  and  tele- 
phone poles. 

Needless  to  say  the  "ape  man"  had  a  gang 
of  kids  following  him  all  the  time.  And  they 
all  came  to  see  "Tarzan  the  Mighty"  at  the 
theatre  too.  Then  Stevens  took  the  "ape  man" 
on  the  top  of  his  sedan  advertising  the  serial 
with  banners  on  the  car,  and  ran  miles  out 
into  the  country  each  way  from  town.  As  a 
result,  the  Saturday  matinee  business,  the  time 
of  "Tarzan's"  run,  is  far  ahead  of  the  Sunday 
receipts. 


Mothers  Like  Kiddie 

Revue  at  Theatre 

A  novelty  for  mothers  was  staged  recently 
by  the  G  ympic  theatre  in  Watertown,  N.  Y., 
when  one  night  was  set  aside  for  a  kiddies' 
fashion  revue.  With  children  acting  as 
models,  fashion's  latest  creations  were  shown. 
The  theatre  played  a  good  card  in  staging  a 
fashion  revue  with  living  models  throughout 
the  week  in  connection  with  a  "Suburban 
Week"  sponsored  by  the  merchants  of  the 
city  and  which  brought  thousands  from  the 
rural  sections  of  northern  New  York. 


Theatre  Aviation  Beacon 

Another  Road  to  Goodwill 

An  aviation  beacon  has  been  installed  atop 
the  new  Oakland  (Cal.)  theatre  and  is  now 
guiding  pilots  of  night  flying  planes  to  air- 
ports in  the  Greater  San  Francisco  field. 

Airport  officials  pronounced  the  beacon  prac- 
tical and  the  theatre  management  applied  to  the 
Department  of  Commerce  for  permission  to 
operate  a  private  aid  to  aeronautics.  The  bea- 
con includes  125  feet  of  Claud  Neon  tubing, 
mounted  on  a  bevel  glass  ball. 


Morning  Matinee  Popular 

Saturday  morning  shows  for  children  at 
10  cents  admission  have  become  a  popular 
feature  at  the  Imperial  theatre,  Ottawa, 
under  the  direction  of  Ray  Tubman,  the 
house  being  packed  on  each  occasion. 


Dressing  House 
In  Holiday 


Organ  Cover 
Greetings 


Sheboygan  Theatre  Newsette 


The  Sheboygan  Wishes  You  a  Merry  Christmas 


"Lonesome."  Talking  and 
Sound  Picture  -  Monday. 
Tuesday  and  Wednesday 


Sheboygan  (Wis.)  Theatre  Newsette. 


File  this  page  for  reference  next  win- 
ter when  you  make  up  your  Christmas 
house  organ. 


Family   Theatre,  Sheldon,  III. 


Palace  Theatre 


EAST  MAJN  STREET 


TORRINLTON,  CONN. 


EEKLY  NEWS 


Palace  Theatre,  Torrington,  Conn. 


''/Vou>,"  West  Coast  Theatres  organ. 


52 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


How  Stillman 

in  Cleveland 
Played  MGM's 
White 
Shadows 


At  the  Victrola  playing  "Flower 
of  Love,"  theme  song. 


South  Sea  books  in  tieup  dis- 
play at  Public  Library. 


A  huge  oil  painting  in  front  of  the  box  office  was  attractive. 


Picturesque  lobby  display  was  only  a  small  part  of  the  campaign. 


Appearance  of  Leo  the  Lion  added  to  the  street  flash. 


r 


Hendricks9  Card 
And  Tieup  on  Auto 
Both  Ring  the  Bell 

William  L.  Hendricks,  managing  director 
of  the  Capitol  and  Olympic  theatres  at 
Steubenville,  Ohio,  writes  us  about  an  idea 
put  over  in  exploiting  "The  Cameraman." 
But  before  going  into  that,  let's  take  just 
a  moment  to  call  his  Christmas  Greeting 
card  one  of  the  headliners  of  those  received 
by  "The  Theatre"  from  its  many  readers. 

Cut  into  a  black  and  white  comedy  sketch 
is  a  strip  of  film  in  four  frames,  reading 
"Not  a  Vitaphone  Talkie  but  talking  just 
the  same,  and  Wishing  You  a  Merry  Christ- 
mas and  a  Happy  and  Prosperous  1929. 
William  L.  Hendricks,  Capitol-Olympic 
Theatres,  Steubenville,  O." 

But  here's  the  exploitation  done  on  "The 
Cameraman"  by  Hendricks: 

"Several  days  before  the  opening  of  the 
picture,  arranged  with  the  Chrysler  people 
to  furnish  us  with  a  new  roadster  with  the 
top  removed;  this  car  was  bannered  with 
signs  reading  WATCH  FOR  THE  CAM- 
ERAMAN, carrying  also,  on  the  sides, 
smaller  signs  reading  THE  CAMERAMAN 
CHOOSES  THE  NEW  CHRYSLER. 
This  car  was  driven  about  town  several 
days  before  the  opening  of  the  picture,  with 
a  man,  costumed  as  a  cameraman,  with  a 
motion  picture  camera  set  up  in  the  rumble 
seat,  apparently  taking  shots  of  the  town 
and  the  Christmas  crowds. 

"Police  permission  was  obtained  to  stop 
the  car  wherever  desired,  attracting  plenty 
of  attention  and  apparently  taking  pictures. 
The  day  before  the  opening  of  the  picture 
the  banners  were  changed  to  read  SEE 
BUSTER  KEATON  AS  'THE  CAMERA- 
MAN' AT  THE  CAPITOL  and  Dates. 
Several  hundred  feet  of  film  made  on  the 
first  day  we  used  the  gag  were  run  during 
the  run  of  the  picture." 


Colleen  Moore  Pictures 

In  Contest  at  the  Circle 

Theatre  goers  who  have  followed  the  ca- 
reer of  Colleen  Moore  and  who  visit  the 
Circle  theatre  at  Indianapolis  were  attracted 
to  the  latest  contest  at  that  playhouse.  In 
conjunction  with  the  theatre,  an  Indianapo- 
lis newspaper  printed  a  collection  of  pic- 
tures of  Colleen  Moore  as  she  appeared  in 
a  number  of  her  pictures.  The  theatre  of- 
fered awards  for  naming  the  screen  play 
from  which  each  picture  was  taken. 


"Wings"  Contest  Winner 

Gets  Aviation  Scholarship 

The  management  of  Saenger's  Liberty 
theatre  at  New  Orleans  instituted  a  contest 
for  the  best  built  model  planes  by  citizens 
of  New  Orleans,  in  connection  with  the 
showing  of  "Wings."  The  first  prize  win- 
ner will  have  an  option  on  a  scholarship 
offered  by  the  Southern  Aeronautical  Serv- 
ice, School  of  Aviation. 


Food  Pays  Admissions 

In  Salvation  Army  Tieup 

A  turnip  or  a  cabbage  or  what  have  you 
in  the  food  line  served  as  admission  tickets 
to  the  Riviera  at  Omaha  for  boys  and  girls 
at  a  Saturday  forenoon  show,  in  a  tieup 
which  Manager  Ray  Jones  made  with  the 
Salvation  Army.  The  pile  of  foodstuffs 
went  to  unfortunate  families  in  Christmas 
baskets. 


"On  Tria  "  to  Sell  as  Book 

NEW  YORK — "On  Trial,"  Warner  Brothers  mil- 
talking  pictui--,  will  ;>£  sold  in  book  form  by  Gross  el 
&  Dunlap,  publishers. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


53 


w 


SERVICE  TALKS 


Incorporated  in  this  department  of  Exhibitors  Herald,  ichich  is  a  department  containing  news,  in- 
formation and  gossip  on  current  productions,  is  the  Moving  Picture  World  department,  "Through 

the  Box  Office  Windou:" 


D, 


"SI  MB  A' 


'EAR  FOLKS: 
I've  seen  "Simba."  Of  course  I've  seen 
"Chang"'  and  the  other  four-footed  brethren, 
too,  but  that's  another  story.  "Simba"  is  the 
big  boy  of  the  moment.  A  really  big  boy, 
although  not  really  very  good  company.  If  it 
is  all  rigbt  with  you  I'd  just  as  soon  meet  the 
fellow  at  no  closer  quarters.  And  thank  you, 
Mrs.  Martin  Johnson,  for  plugging  the  beast 
when  you  did.  Another  leap  and  he'd  have 
been  in  my  lap. 

That's  the  sort  of  picture  "Simba"'  is.  The 
animals  are  right  in  your  lap  most  of  the  time. 
And  th  ere  are  plenty  of  animals.  In  fact,  manv 
of  the  supporting  quadrapeds  were  more  in- 
teresting to  me  than  the  star,  but  of  course 
that's  my  inexperience. 

More  interesting,  for  instance,  was  the  ele- 
phant with  the  palm  leaf  ears.  I  could  learn 
to  like  this  guy.  And  the  giraffes  were  nice, 
too.  I  suppose  that's  why  the  circuses  have  so 
many  of  them.  And  I've  always  been  strona 
for  the  zebra,  a  horse  with  a  sense  of  the  artis- 
tic and  the  carriage  of  a  lady.  But  of  course 
the  lion  is  given  the  lion's  share  of  the  em- 
phasis for  the  good  reason  that  he's  the  boss 
of  the  jungle  and  I  suppose  I  can  do  nothing 
about  it. 

The  picture  is  great  animal  study  stuff  and 
you  might  as  well  count  the  natives  under  the 
heading  too  while  you're  at  it.  In  fact  I  think 
these  were,  after  all,  the  most  interesting  of 
the  lot.    And  all,  of  course,  are  good. 


I 


"THE  AIR  CIRCUS" 


CONFESS  that  I  don't  know  whether  the 
Merriwell  Boys  are  still  at  it  (Frank  and  Dick', 
but  if  they  are  I'm  sure  they're  doing  thinzs 
like  Arthur  Lake,  Sue  Carol  and  their  boy  and 
girl  friends  do  in  'The  Air  Circus."  All  the 
picture  lacks  to  be  genuine  Merriwell  stuff  is  a 
villain.  Probably,  too.  that  is  all  the  picture 
lack  to  be  bang-up  entertainment.  Somehow 
it  isn't  quite. 

The  story's  about  a  couple  of  boys  who  go 
to  school  to  learn  the  flight  business  and  do  so. 
Sue  Carol  is  in  view  as  the  chief  motivating 
influence  of  one  of  them.  The  other  had  a 
brother  who  died  over  there;  also  air  fear. 
And  a  mother  who  is  performed  by  Louise 
Dresser  a§  well  as  this  particularly  unpopular 
type  of  mother  could  be  performed  by  any- 
body in  these  States.  (I  wept  for  as  well  as 
with  her   in   the   weeping   scene,   which  the 


By  T.  O.  Service 

youngsters  in  the  theatre  could  not  seem  to 
take  seriously  however  hard  they  tried.) 

Probably  I  shouldn't  have  seen  the. thing  with 
a  young  audience  •  most  of  those  present  were 
minors1  because  the  young  are  so  keenly  per- 
ceptive of  phoney  sentiment.  They  simply 
snickered  at  the  sad  spots,  rounding  into  true 
juvenile  form  at  the  finish  and  applauding  just 
as  though  everything  had  been  all  right.  I 
guess  that  about  describes  "The  Air  Circus." 


I 


THE  HALyTED  HOUSE' 


'\  E  had  a  terrible  time  with  these  spook 
pictures.  For  this  reason:  A  good  many  years 
ago  I  saw  the  stage  production  of  "The  House 
of  a  Thousand  Candles"  and  thought  it  splen- 
did. I  saw  it  several  times.  And  in  all  the 
years  that  have  gone  between  I  have  looked  at 
the  various  successive  spook  plays  and  pictures 
with  that  early  classic  i  to  my  mind  >  as  a  model. 
None  were  ever  so  good  as  the  original,  to 
me,  and  I  suppose  none  ever  could  be.  And 
so,  when  I  had  sat  through  "The  Haunted 
House"  to  the  bitter  end  I  was  bitterly  dis- 
appointed. More  bitterly  than  by  any  other 
of  its  kind.  Because — and  can  you  imagine 
this? — it  is  exactly  the  plot  of  "The  House  of 
a  Thousand  Candles!"  i  No.  it  doesn't  seem 
sensible  to  me  either.) 

That  much  for  my  personal  reaction.  And 
the  reasons.  But  Tm  of  the  opinion  that  the 
fact  of  the  matter  is  quite  different.  I  have 
the  increasingly  firm  conviction  that  "The 
Haunted  House"  is  better  than  any  of  the  other 
spook  pictures.  Because,  quite  plainly,  it  is 
just  like  "The  House  of  a  Thousand  Candles" 
— without  the  candles — and  that  has  always  rep- 
resented to  me  the  best  of  all  spook  plays. 

In  view-  of  these  contradictory  paragraphs,  it 
seems  quite  plain  that  I  have  nothing  positive 
to  utter  about  The  Haunted  House."  There- 
fore I'll  say  no  more  about  it. 

"WEST  OF  ZANZIBAR? 

O-V  this  last  day  of  1928  I  respectfully  re- 
issue my  semi-occasional  bulletin  to  Mr.  Lon 
Chaney.  As  you  must  recall,  if  you  read  this 
page  at  alL  it  is  my  custom  on  these  occasions 
to  tell  Mr.  Chaney  that  je  ought  to  forget  the 
horror  permanently  and  become  the  exceed- 
ingly brilliant  actor  that  he  is.  In  this  wise — 
Mr.  Chaney's  biz  moments  have  been  "Tell 


It  to  the  Marine-"  and  "While  the  City  Sleeps." 
In  the  former  be  wore  no  makeup,  save  a 
Marine"?  uniform.  In  the  latter,  none  at  all. 
Now  why  in  the  name  of — of,  say,  Lon  Chaney, 
go  back  into  the  muck  and  mire  of  "Congo" 
and  do  this  "Dead  Leg?"  guy."  Who  would 
rather  see  this  bozo  than  the  detective  of 
"While  the  City  Sleeps"  Is  it  the  European 
market  demand?  I  doubt  it.  I  think  it's — but 
no  matter.  The  point  is  that  Lon  Chaney  is 
too  good  an  actor  to  make  a  mere  stunt  man 
of  himself.  It's  like  Lindbergh  enacting  Dr. 
Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde.  Maybe  he  could  do  it 
better  than  Barrymore,  but  whoinell  wants  him 
to?    I  Come  on,  Lon,  and  come  clean. ) 


'THE  LOUES  OF  CASSASOl  A" 


.NOW  about  this  guy  Cassanova?  I  Use 
plain  envelope  if  you  choose.  >  And  about  the 
big  time  he  had  in  and  around  Europe,  if  you 
believe  his  account  of  it?  I  Don"t  tell  me  yon 
haven't  heard.)  Well,  here  he  is,  a  Continental 
impersonation  in  color  and  English,  and  he's 
the  same  guy. 

They  ran  this  at  the  United  Artists  theatre 
the  week  before  Christmas.  The  L'nited  Artists 
theatre,  patronized  by  the  smartest  and  prob- 
ably the  most  adult  crowd  in  Chicago,  was  ex- 
actly the  place  to  run  it.  Possibly  the  week 
before  Christmas  was  exactly  the  right  time, 
for  then  if  ever  it  takes  word-of-mouth  adver- 
tising to  get  the  nickels  into  the  till.  And  yet 
I'm  not  at  all  sure  that  Chicago,  carefully 
shielded  by  a  censor  board  that  still  believes 
in  fairies,  is  exactly  the  right  city  for  the  pic- 
ture. 

The  picture  is  very  deftly  made.  I'd  say  that 
nearly  half  the  footage  is  given  over  to  cap- 
tions, which  are  in  Mons.  Cassanova's  own 
inimitable  phrasing  i  as  cannily  caught  by  a 
translator  who  knows  his  adverbs.)  In  between 
these  captions  there  is  much  pursuing  of 
women,  none  of  whom  seem  to  require  a  great 
deal  of  pursuing,  and  everything  is  so  nicely 
tinted  and  so  swiftly  dashed  off  that  it  makes 
first  rate  pastime.  iThat  is,  if  the  gentleman" 
on  your  left  isn't  the  minister  and  the  lady  on 
your  right  is  modern,  too.) 

Personally,  and  of  course  I  can  be  nothing 
but  personal  in  a  matter  of  this  kind.  I  think 
the  picture  is  excellent  stuff  and  hope  to  see 
more  similarly  courageous  effort.  Personally, 
too,  I  think  by  good  friend  Tragsdorf  of  Neils- 
ville,  Wis.,  not  to  mention  J.  C.  Jenkins,  will 
petition  the  editor  for  my  release  when — and 
if — thev  read  of  mv  having  said  so. 


54 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


QUICK  REFERENCE  PICTURE  CHART 

Incorporated  in  this  department  of  Moving  Picture  World  is  the  Exhibitors  Herald  department, 

"Available  Attractions." 


Key  to  abbreviations  used  in  denoting  type  of  sound 
AT — All  Talking  T — Talking  Sequences 

M — Musical  Scon  E — Sound  Effects 

If  the  picture  contains  both  Talking  Sequences  and  Musical 
Score,  or  other  combinations,  it  is  so  denoted  by  a  combination 
abbreviations  such  as  TM,  ME,  etc. 

Key  to  abbreviations  used  in  denoting  the   type  of  picture 
C— Comedy  F — Farce 

D — Drama  M — Melodrama 

R — Romance  W — Western 
My— Mystery 

Comedy-drama,  Romantic  comedy,  etc.,  are  denoted  by  a  com- 
bination of  abbreviations. 

Dates  printed  in  the  column,  "Comment,"  are  those  on  which 
"Service  Talks"  were  published  on  pictures.  Dates  in  the  column, 
"New  Pictures,"  are  those  on  which  casts  and  synopses  were 
published  in  the  "New  Pictures"  department. 


Stunt    Length    Title  and  Players 


Released  New 
Pictures 


1928 


S400 
5450 
5500 
6300 

5300 
6000 
6500 


1927 


1928 


5831 
6843 
5628 
5906 
5435 
5054 
6108 
6367 
6426 
6791 
5762 

5459 

5818 
5649 
5537 
6014 
5928 
6267 
5592 
5471 
6214 
6925 
6540 
5544 
5701 
6465 

6725 
6401 
6443 
6G16 
5440 
5464 
6792 
5988 
8193 
6047 
6048 
6350 
6472 


1927 


1927 


2000 
2000 


1928 


6980 
6912 
6646 
7393 
6760 
6867 

6860 
6974 
6904 


Jan.  7 
Dec.  3 


Jan.  21 
Jan.  7 


Chesterfield 

Adorable  Cheat.  The.  Lila  Lee-Mcintosh  Aus.  15 

Below  the  Deadline  peD  28 

Campus  Knights   _  _  --„„!!  Aug.  15 

Circumstantial  Evidence     _   Jan  1 

House  of  Shame,  The   o,  t  ] 

Roaring  Forties.  The   Apr.  15 

South  of  Panama.  _  Nov."  15 

Columbia 

Alias  the  Lone  Wolf  (D).  Lytell- Wilson   Aug.  22 

Blood  Ship.  The  (M).  Bosworth-Logan   Aug.  10 

College  Hero,  The  (CD),  Agnew-Garon.  Oct.  9 

Siren,  The,  T.  Moore-Revier.     „   Dec.  20 

Stage  Kissel  (D),  Harlan-Chadwick—   Nov.  2 

Stolen   Pleasures  (CD),   Itevier  _  

Sweet  Rosie  O'Grady  (CD).  Mason  _  

Tigress,  The  (M).  Holt-Revier  _  Oct.  21 

Wandering  Girls  (CD)  Revier-Agnew 

Warning,  The  (M),  Holt-ltevier.  -   Nov.  26 Dec  3 

Way  of  the  Strong.  The  (MD).  Alice  Day-Lewis  _  juiy'  21 

After  the  Storm,  GUbert-Boswortb,  _  Apr.  17 

Apache,  The  (D),  Llvingston-Alvarado  _  Nov.  19  ~ 

Beware  of  Blondes  (MD).  Revler-Matt  Moore  July  1 

Broadway  Daddies,  Jacqueline  Logan   Apr.  7 

Court- Martini  (D),  Holt-Compson.   Aug.  12 

Desert  Bride.  The  (MD).  Betty  Compson   Mar.  26 

Driftwood  (D).  Alvardo-Day  Oct.  15 

Golf  Widows  (CD),  Iteynolds-Ford  May  1 

Lady  Raffles,  Taylor-Drew    Jan.  25 

Lone  Wolf's  Daughter,  The  (D),  Lytell-Olmstead-Nov.  30 

Matinee  Idol.  The  (MD).  Love-Walker  Mar.  14 

Modern  Mothers  (CD),  Helene  Chadwick  June  9 

Name  the  Woman  (D),  Stewart-Gordon.—  -  

Nothing  to  Wear  (CD).  Logan-Von  Eltz   Nov.  5 

Power  of  the  Press  (D),  Fairbanks.  Jr. -Ralston.... Oct.  31 

Restless  Youth  (D),  Day-Forbes    

Runaway  Girls   (D).  Mason-Rankin  Aug.  23 

Say  It  With  Sables  (D),  Bushman-Chadwlck  July  13 

Scarlet  Lady,  The  (D),  Lya  De  Puttl  Aug.  1 

Sinners  Parade  (MD),  Varconi-Revier  —Sept.  14 

So  Thi«  Is  Love.  Mason-Collier    Feb.  6 

Sporting  Age,  The,  Bennett-Herbert.    Mar.  2 

Stool    Pigeon,  Borden-Delaney     Oct.  25 

Street  of  Illusion  (D),  Valli-Keith   Sept.  3 

Submarine  (D),  Holt-Revier   Nov.  12 

That  Certain  Thing.  Dana-Graves...-  _   Jan.  1 

Virgin  Lips  (D),  Olive  Borden  „  _  _.Aug.  18 

Wife's  Relations,  The,  Mason-Glass  -  Jan.  13 

Woman's  Way,  A,  Baxter-Livingston  -  Feb.  18 


Oct.  1 
July  23 


Jan.  21 


July  21 


Apr.  14 
Nov.  17 
May  26 
Feb.  25 


Apr.  7 


-Dec.  22 


Aug.  4 
Sept.  8 
Oct.  20 
Feb.  25 

Nov.  17 


Feb.  11 
Mar.  31 


Cranfield  &  Clarke,  Inc. 


Angelus.  The  (D).. 
Real  Charleston,  Lesson  Novelty.. 
Wooden  Shoes,  International  


Emblem  Films 

Husbands  or  Lovers,  Jannlnes  ...   


....May  15 
....Apr.  24 
...  May  8 


Excellent 


Back  to  Liberty  (D).  Walsh-Hall  ...Nov.  15 

Broadway  Drifter  (D).  Walsh-Hall   Nov.  1 

Broadway  Madness  (D),  De  la  Motte-Keith  

Nett,  The  (D),  Frederick-Herbert.   Aug  1 

Winning  Oar.  The  (D).  Walsh-Hall  June  1 

Your  Wife  and  Mine  (F).  Haver-Holmes....  Sept.  1 


A  Bit  of  Heaven  (D),  Washburn- Lee  May  15 

Broken  Barriers.  Helene  Costello  Nov.  1 

Daughters  of  Desire,  Irene  Rich  -...Nov.  25 


 Apr.  14 


Sound    Length   Title  and  Players 


New  Comment 

Pictures 


5280 
6600 
5355 

5100 
6000 
6400 
4700 
6536 
6600 


1927 


1927 

  4765 

  5858 

  4837 

  4754 

  7014 

  6481 

  6515 

  4924 

  6680 

  6004 

  4886 

  6388 

  4892 

1928 

  5872 

  5000 

  5583 

  4869 

  6000 

  6568 


TJIE 


6267 
6079 

  6375 

  6320 

  5594 

  5511 

  5984 

  5063 

  4803 

  "4770 

  4804 

  4758 

  6148 

TME  6365 

  6249 

  6144 

  6319 

TME  6482 


  4769 

  6771 

  4647 

  4801 

  6424 

  4785 

TME  6330 

  4781 

4884 

  6419 

  4729 

  4714 

  6059 

  6279 

  5812 

  5967 

  6037 

  5488 

ZZ  4956 
  4793 

  4760 

  6329 

  4898 

  4805 


1927 


1928 


596 
56(~ 
5?  1 

5r00 
fj~ 
(IT  00 

55(K> 
MOO 

«:ot 


Inspiration    (D),   George  Walsh  -  _  -...May  10 

Into  No  Man's  Land,  Tom  Santschi-J.  Norman....  July  15 

Life's  Crossroads,  Hulette  Hamilton  Oct.  20 

Montmartre  Rose   -   ..   Dec.  15 

Passion  Song,  The,  Noah  Berry-Olmstead  —  Oct.  20 

Manhattan  Knights,  Barbara  Bedford    Aug.  27 

Satan  and  the  Woman  (D),  Windsor-Keefe.  Jan.  20 

Speed  Classic,  The,  Rex  Lease-Mildred  Harris..  .  July  31 

Stronger  Will,  The  (W),  Marmont-Carewe  Feb.  20 

Women  Who  Dare  (D),  Chadwlck-Delaney  Mar.  30 


Feb.  25 


Film  Arts 


6260     Husband  or  Lovers,  Jannings.. 


FBO 


Bandit's  Son,  The  (W).  Bob  Steele  _  Nov.  20 

Boy  Rider.  The  (W).  Buzz  Barton.  _  Oct.  23 

Cherokee  Kid,  The  (W),  Tyler-Lynn    Oct.  30 

Desert  Pirate  (W),  Tom  Tyler  -  Dec.  25 

Harvester,  The  (D),  Orvllle  Caldwell   Nov.  23 

Judgment  of  the  Hills  (D),  Darro-Valli.—  Nov.  6 

Little  Mickey  Grogan  (D),  Frankie  Darro  Dec.  27 

Mojave  Kid,  The  (W).  Bob  Steele  _  -  .Sept.  25 

Moon  of  Israel  (D),  Maria  Corda  _  -    _ 

Shanghaied  (M).  Ralph  Ince.—   Oct.  19 

Slingshot  Kid,  The  (M),  Buzz  Barton   Dec  4 

South  Sea  Love  (D),  Patsy  Ruth  Miller  Dec.  10 

Swift  Shadow,  The  (D),  Ranger  _  Dec.  11 

Alex  the  Great  (M),  Skeets  Gallagher.   —  May  13 

Avenging  Rider.  The.  Tom  Tyler  Oct.  7 

Beyond  London's  Lights  (M),  Lee  Shumway  Mar.  18 

Breed  of  the  Sunsets  (W),  Bob  Steele   Apr.  1 

Captain  Careless,  Bob  Steele...-  Aug.  26 

Charge  of  the  Gauchos  (MD),  Francis  X. 

Bushman  Sept  16 

Chicago  After  Midnight  (M),  Ince-Mendez  Mar.  4 

Circus  Kid,  The  (MD),  Frankie  Darro-Brown..  Oct.  7 

Coney  Island  (D),  Lois  Wilson    Jan.  13 

Crooks  Can't  Win  (D).  Ralph  Lewis     May  11 

Danger  Street  Baxter-Sleeper  -.   Aug.  26 

Dead  Man's  Curve  (D),  Fairbanks,  Jr    Jan.  15 

Devil's  Trademark,  The  (D),  Belle  Bennett.  Apr.  7 

Dog  Justice  (M),  Ranger  _    June  10 

Dog   Law.  Ranger  -  _  Sept.  2 

Driftln'  Sands  (W),  Bob  Steele   -   Jan.  1 

Fangs  of  the  Wild  (D).  Ranger...-  _  -        Feb.  5 

Fightin'  Redhead  (W),  Buzz  Barton.—  — .  July  1 

Freckles  (D),  Stratton-Fox.  Jr.   _  -...Mar.  21 

Gang  War  (MD),  Pickford-Borden  Sept.  2 

Headin'  for  Danger  (MD).  Bob  Steele.   Dec.  16 

Her  Summer  Hero  (CD),  Blane-Trevor  -  Feb.  12 

Hey  Rube  (D),  Trevor- Olmstead-   Dec.  23 

Hit  of  the  Show.  The  (C),  Joe  Brown   Sept.  23 

King  Cowboy  (W).  Tom  Mix.  Nov.  26 

Law  of  Fear  (D),  Ranger  _  -  Apr.  8 

Legionnaires  in  Paris  (C),  Cooke-Guard    Jan.  31 

Lightning  Speed,  Bob  Steele..-  _   Mar.  11 

Little  Buckaroo,  The  (W),  Buzz  Barton.   Oct.  21 

Little  Yellow  House,  The  (CD),  Orville  Caldwell.... May  28 

Man  in  the  Rough  (W),  Bob  Steele  ......May  20 

Perfect  Crime,  The,  Clive  Brook-Irene  Rich  Aug.  19 

Phantom  of  the  Range  (W),  Tom  Tyler.-.  Apr.  22 

Pinto  Kid,  The  (W),  Buzz  Barton  —  Apr.  29 

Red  Riders  of  Canada  (M),  P.  R.  Miller  Apr.  15 

Riding  Renegade  (W),  Bob  Steele  _  Feb.  19 

Rough  Ridin'  Red  (W),  Buzz  Barton  Nov.  4 

Sally  of  the  Scandals  (M),  Bessie  Love...-  -  July  15 

Sally's  Shoulders  (MD).  Lois  Wilson.   Oct.  7 

Singapore  Mutiny.  Ince-Taylor     Apr.  24 

Sinners  In  Love  (MD),  Olive  Borden.   Oct.  14 

Skinner's  Big  Idea  (M),  Bryant  Washburn  Nov.  4 

Son  of  the  Golden  West,  Tom  Mix  Oct.  1 


Deo.  10 
Dec.  3 
Nov.  2« 
Dec.  24 
Nov.  19 
Nov.  12 
Dec.  17 


Oct.  8 


Dec.  3 
Dec.  10 
Nov.  12 
Dec.  10 


Feb.  11 
Feb.  11 


Sept.  16 
Jan.  21 
Oct.  13 
Dec.  17 
Feb.  1 


Dec.  17 
Mar.  3 
June  16 


Dec.  17 
Jan.  21 
Feb.  11 
Feb.  4 
Sept.  29 
June  19 
Jan.  21 
Dec.  8 
July  21 
Nov.  17 
Feb.  11 
Dec.  10 
Jan.  14 


June  2 
Feb.  11 
Sept.  1 
Jan.  21 
Feb.  4 
Jan.  21 


Stocks  and  Blondes  (CD).  Logan -Gallagher.. 

Stolen  Love  (D),  Day-Lease   -  

Taxi  13  (C),  Conklin- Sleeper- 
Terror  Mountain,  Tom  Tyler- 


....  Sept.9 


Dec.  1 
Apr.  28 
Oct.  20 
Oct.  27 
Nov.  3 
Nov.  3 

July  lT  " 
-Dec.  22 
...Sept.  22 


Aug.  19 

Feb.  26 


July  8 


Texas  Tornado,  The  (W),  Tom  Tyler  

Tracked  (MD),  Ranger  — 

Trail  of  Courage,  The  (W),  Bob  Steele  

Tyrant  of  Red  Gulch  (W).  Tyler-Darro    

Wallflowers  (D).  Trevor-Scott.  —  Feb.  16 

When  the  Law  Rides  (W).  Tom  Tyler  June  24 

Wizard  of  the  Saddle  (W).  Buzz  Barton  Jan.  22 

First  Division 

Ddttl  Valley  (W).  Carroll  Nye.   _ 

Eat'^r  ..ips,  Garon.    —   

m'l  Ball  (C),  Mack  Swain  

Ladle-,  at  Ease  (CD),  Garon-Sbort  

i\  iv,  ty,  Garon    —   

of  the  Movies,  short -Robards  — 


-Dec.  8 
Feb.  4 


Fii^asa,  Raymond  Wells   

Free  Lips  (MD),  Jane-Marlowe- 

ked  Angel,  Betty  Compson  

°."  is  Aflame,  Raymond  Wells  


..Sept.  1 
-Oct.  1 
..Sept.  15 
..Nov.  15 
-Nov.  1 
-Oct.  15 

-Apr.  1 
-Aug.  4 
_  Mar.  1 


Jan.  7 


Jan.  7 


July  14 
Apr.  7 
Apr.  21 


Nov.  19 
Aug.  20 

-Aug.  « 
-July  9 
Aug.  20 


Feb.  18 
Mar  lT 


Nov.  10 


..Aug.  It 


.  Oct  16 


/ 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


55 


Bound    Length    Title  and  Playen 


Released 


New  Comment 
Pictarei 


1927 


6309 

6333 
6231 
8730 
6386 
6802 
7133 
6288 
6118 
6524 
6720 
5718 
7388 
5542 
6520 
6431 
11414 
6897 
6400 
6210 
6477 
5606 
7179 
6000 
7400 
5774 
7833 
6336 
640* 


1928 


7137 
7402 
6500 
6457 
6800 
5744 


  6365 

  5600 

M  C225 

THE  10101 

  6027 

  617J 

  6344 

ME  7989 

  5886 

  7100 

ME  5755 

  7641 

  7426 

  8070 

  6400 

  5957 

  7695 

j   6592 

  6608 

ME  89C7 
  7700 


6625 


M 
MB 


6612 

  7129 

  6109 

  6100 

ME  6G22 

ZZ  5485 

ME   

8188 
6133 

  7534 

  5834 

  6212 

ME  6142 

  6895 

ME  6058 

  5087 

  6300 

  7187 


ME 


1927 


4665 
4777 
4556 
6333 
4810 
4300 
8154 
6624 
4545 
5515 
6940 
6162 
8538 
6327 
6898 
6876 
5893 

10726 
6467 
6446 
6009 
5792 
6412 
4675 
6293 

11109 
5629 
6531 


First  National 


All  Aboard  (C),  Hinea-Murphy- 


American  Beauty  (CD),  Dove-Hugkes  

Breakfast  at  Sunrise  (CD),  C.  Talmadge.. 

Camille  (D),  N.  Talmadge-Roland  

Crystal  Cup,  The  (D),  Mackaill-MulhalL. 


May  8 


Drop  Kick,  The  (D),  Barthelmess-Revier- 

Gorilla,  The  (My),  Murray-Kelsey  

Gun  Gospel  (W),  Maynard-Faire  

Her  Wild  Oat  (C).  Moore-Kent  

Home  Made  (C).  Hines-Daw  


Life  of  Riley,  The  (C),  Murray-Sidney- 
Lonesome  Ladies  (CD),  Nilsson- Stone- 
Love  Mart.  The  (D),  Dove-Roland  

Man  Crazy  (CD),  MackaUl-Mulhall  

Naughty  But  Nice  (C),  Moore-Reed'  

No  Place  to  Go  (C),  Hughes-Astor- 


.  Oct.  9 
_  Oct.  23 
_Sept.  4 
„Oct.  16 
Sept.  25 
..Nov.  13 
..Nov.  6 
_Dec.  25 
..Nov.  20 
..Sept.  18 
..July  3 
_  Dec.  18 
-Not.  27 
-June  26 

.  Oct.  30 


Patent  Leather  Kid,  The  (D),  Bart'lmess-O'Day.. 

Poor  Nut  The  (C),  Murray-Mulhall  Aug.  7 

Prince  ot  Head  Waiters  (D),  Stone-Tashman  

Red  Raiders,  The  (W),  Maynard-Drew  July  17 

Rose  of  the  Golden  West  (D),  Astor-Roland.  Sept.  4 


Sea  Tiger,  The  (D),  Siils-Astor- 
Stolen  Bride,  The  (D),  Hughes-Dove- 

Sunset  Derby  (D),  Astor-Colller  

Tender  Hour,  The  (D),  Dove-Lyon  

Three  Hours   (D),  GrifBth-Bowers  

Twinkletoes,  Moore-Harlan  


Valley  of  the  Giants  (D),  Sllls-Kenyon.. 
White  Pants  Willie  (C),  HJnes-Hyams- 


-Oct.  2 
-Sept.  11 
..Aug.  14 
-June  5 
-Dec.  4 
-Aug.  28 
-Dec  11 
..July  24 


Barker,  The  (D),  Sllls-MackallL- 


Big  Noise,  The  (CD),  Conklin-White  

Burning  Daylight  (M),  Sills-Kenyon  

Butter  and  Egg  Man,  The,  Jack  MulhalL 

Canyon  of  Adventure  (W),  Maynard  

Chaser,  The  (C),  Langdon  

Cheyenne  (W),  Ken  Maynard- 


— .Dec.  30 
-Mar.  25 
_  Feb.  26 
.-.Sept  2 
.-.Apr.  29 
—  Feb.  12 


Chinatown  Charlie  (C),  Hines-Lorraine  Apr.  15 

Code  of  the  Scarlet  (W),  Ken  Maynard.  July  1 

Crash.  The  (D),  Sills-Todd.  Oct.  7 


Divine  Lady,  The  (D),  Griffith- Varconi.. 

Do  Your  Duty  (CD),  Charlie  Murray  

Flying  Romeos  (C),  Murray-Sidney- 


 Oct.  14 

 Feb.  26 

French  Dressing  (CD).  Warner-Wilson  Jan.  15 

Goodbye  Kiss.  The.  Johnny  Burke-Sally  Ellers.  July  8 

Glorious  Trail,  The  (W).  Ken  Maynard  Oct.  28 

Happiness  Ahead  (D).  Colleen  Moore- Lowe  Jane  30 

Haunted  House,  The  (MD),  Conklin-Kent  Nor.  4 

Harold  Teen  (CD),  Lake-Brian  Apr  29 

Hawk's  Nest,  The  (M).  Milton  Sills  May  6 

Heart  to  Heart,  Lloyd  Hughes-Todd  July  23 

Heart  Trouble  (CD),  Harry  Langdon  Aug.  12 

Heart  of  a  Follies  Girl  (D),  Dove-Kent-Sherman..  M_..  18 

Helen  of  Troy  (CD).  Stone- Corda- Cotter.  Jan.  8 

Ladles  Night  (CD),  MackalU-MulhalL  Apr  1 

Lady  Be  Good  (CD).  Mulhall-Mackalll  May  12 

Lilac  Time  (D),  Moore-Cooper  Nov.  18 

Little  Shepherd  of  Kingdom  Com*  (D),  Bar- 

thelmesa-O'Day   -Apr.  8 

Mad  Hour  (D).  O'Neil-Kent-Shennan  Mar.  4 

Naughty  Baby  (CD).  Colleen  Moore  Dec  16 

Night  Watch,  The  (D),  Blllie  Dove.  Sept  9 

Noose,  The  (D),  Barthelmess-Joyce—  Jan.29 

Oh,  Kay  (CD),  Colleen  Moore-Hale  Aug.  26 

Out  of  the  Ruins,  Richard  Barthelmess  Aug.  19 

Outcast  (D),  Griffith-Lowe.  Nov.  11 

Phantom  City.  The  (W).  Ken  Maynard  _  

Sailors'  Wives  (CD),  Hughes-Astor  

Scarlet  Seas  (D),  Richard  Barthelmess.. 


Shepherd  of  the  Hills  (D),  Francis-O'Day  

Show  Girl  (CD),  White-Reed- Moran  

Strange  Case  of  Captain  Ramper,  The  (D)  

Three  Ring  Marriage  (M),  Hughes-Astor  

Wagon  Show.  The  (W).  Maynard  

Waterfront    (CD),  MackaUl-MulhalL. 


—  Jan.  22 
—Dec.  9 
— Jan.  1 
—Sept.  23 
.  -  July  29 
.-.May  27 
—Mar.  11 
-Sept.  16 


Wheel  of  Chance,  The  (D),  Richard  BarthelmeasJune  17 

Whip,  The  (D),  Forbes-Mackaill  gcpt.  30 

Whip  Woman,  The  (D).  Taylor-Moreno  Feb  5 

Wright  Idea,  The  (CD).  Johnny  Hines.  Aug  5 

Yellow  Lily,  The  (D).  Dove-Brooks  May  20 


Fox 


Arizona  Wildcat,  The  (W),  Tom  Mix.. 
Blackjack  (W).  Buck  Jones- 


Blood  Will  Tell  (W),  Buck  Jones- 
Chain  Lightning  (W),  Buck  Jones  

Circus  Ace,  The,  mit 


Come  to  My  House  (CD),  Olive  Borden- 
East  Side,  West  Side  (D),  O'Brien- Valli- 


Gay  Retreat,  The  (C).  Cohen-McNamara  

Good  as  Gold  (W).  Jones  


High  School  Hero  (C),  Phipps-Stuart. 
Is  Zat  So?  (CD),  O'Brien-Lowe- 


Joy  Girl,  The  (CD),  Olive  Borden  

Loves  of  Carmen  (D),  McLaglen-Del  Blo- 
Outlaws  of  Red  River  (W),  Mtx- 


-  Nov.  20 
-Sept.  25 

-  Nov.  13 

-  Aug.  14 

-  June  26 
_  Dec.  25 

-  Oct.  9 
-Sept.  25 

-  June  12 

-  Oct.  16 

-  May  15 
-Sept.  18 

-  Sept.  4 


Paid  to  Love  (D),  O'Brien- Vail]  

Pajamas  (CD),  Borden-Gray  

Publicity  Madness  (CD),  Moran-Lowe- 

7th  Heaven,  The  (R),  Farrell-Gaynor  

•Shame  (M),  John  Gilbert- 


Silk  Legs  (CD),  Madge  Bellamy- 
Silver  Valley  (W).  Tom 
Singed   (D),  Baxter-Sweet... 


Slaves  of  Beauty  (D),  Herbert-Tell  

Tumbling  River  (W),  Tom  Mlx-Dawn_ 
  6293     2  Girls  Wanted  (CD),  Janet  Gaynor- 


What  Price  Glory  (CD),  McLaglen-Lowe_ 

Wizard.  The  (MyD),  Lowe-Hyams  

Wolf  Fangs  (D),  Thunder  (Dog)  


Aug.  14 
_  Oct.  23 

-  Oct-  2 

-  Oct  30 
.  Nov.  27 
.  Dec.  18 
_  Oct.  2 
-Aug.  21 

-  June  5 
-Aug.  21 
-Sept  11 
-Aug.  28 
_  Dec.  11 
-Nov.  27 


1928 

TMB  7702 
M  5598 
  4611 


Air  Circus,  The.  Dreaser-Bollins-Lake- 


Blindfold,  The.  O'Brien-Moran-Foxe 
Branded  Sombrero,  The  (W)  " 


...Sept.  30 


Dec. 

Buck  Jones  Jan. 


Nov.  19 
Nov.  12 


-Apr.  2 

Oct.  22 
Nov.  26 
-May  2 

Oct.  29 


.Jan.  7 


Dec.  17 
Dec.  3 
Nov.  26 


Oct.  29 
-Oct.  1 
-Sept.  24 


-Feb.  12 
May  14 

-Apr.  9 
-Jan.  22 
-Sept.  10 
-July  23 
-Oct.  15 

Oct.  8 
-Sept.  17 
-Sept.  3 
-July  2 

Apr.  16 
-Dec  3 

Jan.  7 
-Apr.  16 


July  14      Dec.  15 


Feb.  11 
-Dec.  29 
Feb.  18 
June  23 
Sept.  29 
Oct.  27 
Oct.  13 
Apr.  7 
Dec  10 
July  7 
Sept.  29 
May  26 
Oct  27 
Apr.  21 
May  26 
July  7 
July  21 
Mar.  1* 
Dec  24 


Sept.  1 

Apr.  7 
Mar.  17 
Dec  8 
Oct.  13 
Dec  19 
Sept.  8 
Sept.  15 
Oct.  27 
-Nov.  17 
Dec.  24 
Dec  1 
Dec.  8 
Sept  16 
July  21 
Apr.  28 
Mar.  17 
Sept.  22 
June  2 
July  14 
Feb.  11 
July  7 
Apr.  28 


Jan.  7 
Jan.  7 


Dec.  31 
Dec  17 


Apr.  7 
.July  28 


Dec  17 


June  16 
Aug.  4 


Aug.  18 
May  12 


Sept  a 
Sept.  1 
Dec  1 


Jan.  21 
Dec.  15 


Oct.  6 
July  21 


-Nov.  19 


-Nov.  12 


Oct.  22 


-June  11 
-Oct.  29 
-May  21 
-Sept.  24 
-Oct.  8 
-Apr.  23 
-Aug.  6 
-Dec.  10 


.  May  28 


Oct.  29 
.  July  16 


.  -June  11 
--Aug.  27 


Jan.  1'     Dec.  3 


Oct  20 
Dec.  8 
Jan.  21 


Sound    Length   Title  and  Players 


Released 


New  Comneot 

Pictures 


6418 
4293 
4987 
5708 
6566 
7176 
5109 
5148 
7217 
4939 
8962 
5038 
5882 
4404 
5560 
6430 
4618 
5153 
6188 
4399 
5782 


6042 
6807 
10116 
6679 
5071 
5034 
4952 
5260 
5640 
6086 
9250 

6132 
6937 
4990 
61G2 
5380 
5629 
5355 
9222 
8393 
4876 
5937 
5030 
4921 
5337 
6480 


1927 


1928 


6700 
6200 
6750 

5900 
6000 


1927 


1928 


6344 
6053 
7108 
6679 
5663 
8601 
8686 


Chicken  a  la  Kino  (CD),  Carrol-Francis 

Cowboy  Kid,  The,  Rex  Bell  

Daredevil's  Reward  (W),  Tom  Mix.  

Don't  Marry,  Moran-Hamilton... 


6751 
6306 
8730 
10652 
11375 
5836 
6068 
612. 


6396 
8235 
6591 
5683 
6017 
6291 
6266 
5966 
7599 
6561 
6781 
6705 
6289 
5252 
7899 
5517 

6908 
6749 
5332 


.  June  17 

-July  15 
-Jan.  15 
..June  3 

Dressed  to  Kill,  Lowe-Astor.     Mar.  18 

Dry  Martini,  Astor-Moore-Gran  Oct.  7 

Escape,   The   (D),  RusseU-Valli  Apr.  29 

Farmer's  Daughter,  The  (CD).  Beebe-Stone.  July  8 

Fazil,  Farrell-Nissen   Sept.  9 

Fleetwing,  Norton-Janis-Bard   -June  24 

Four  Sons,  Mann-Collyer-Hall   JJept.  2 

Gateway  of  the  Moon.  The  (D),  Del  Rio.—   Jan.  1 

Girl  in  Every  Port,  A  (CD),  Victor  McLaglen.  Feb.  26 

Girl-Shy  Cowboy,  The,  Rex  Bell-O'Leary.   _..  Aug.  12 

Great  White  North  Dec  30 

Hangman's  House,  McLaglen -Collyer   May  13 

Hello  Cheyenne.  Tom  Mix.  May  13 

Homesick,  Cohen-Beebe  Dec  16 

Honor  Bound,  O'Brien-Taylor   May  6 

Horseman  of  the  Plains  (W).  Tom  Mir  Mar.  11 

Love  Hungry  (CD).  Moran-Gray   Apr.  8 

Manhattan  Cocktail  (MD),  Carroll -Arlen.   

Me,  Ganster  (D),  Collyer- Terry- 


June  30  June  23 

Feb.  11  ZZZZ 

June  9   

Apr.  14  Apr.  14 


Apr.  14  Jan.  21 
Sept.  15     Not.  1* 

 Dec  1 


Jan.  28 


Sept.  1 


May  12 


-May  26 


May  19 


Mother  Machree.  Bennett-McLaglen_ 


—Oct.  14 
-Oct.  21 

Mother  Knows  Best,  Bellamy-Dresser-Norton.  Oct.  28 

News  Parade,  Stuart-Phillips  

No  Other  Woman  (D).  Dolores  Del  Rio  June  10 

None  But  the  Brave,  Norton-Phipps.   _  Aug.  5 

Painted  Post  (W),  Tom  Mix.   July  1 

Play  Girl,  The.  Madge  Bellamy  Apr  22 

Plastered  in  Paris,  Cohen-Pennlck-Linow  ggBi  23 

Prep  and  Pep,  Rollins-Drexel-Darrow  Nov  18 

Red  Dancer,  The,  Del  Rio-Farrell  Dec  2 

Red   Wine,   Collyer-Nagel—  _  Dec  23 

Riley  the  Cop  (CD),  Farrell  McDonald.  Nov!  25 

River  Pirate,  The,  McLaglen-Moran  26 

Road   House   (MD),   Barrymore-Burke.   July  15 

•  Nov.  11 

-  Jan.  15 
-Feb.  5 
■Mar.  4 

-  Aug.  19 
-Not.  4 

Nov.  18 
.  May  20 


Apr.  21 

Apr.  7   

Mar.  10  Feb.  4 

.Dec.  1   


Not.  IT     Nor.  3 

-May  26   

June  23     June  23 


July  7 


Nov.  3 
Sept.  22 


Romance  of  the  Underworld  (D).. 
Sharp  Shooters  (CD),  0'Brien-Moran___ 

Soft  Living  (CD),  Bellamy-Brown  

Square  Crooks.  Brown-Dwan  

Street  Angel,  Gaynor  

Sunrise  (D),  George  O'Brien  

Taking  a  Chance  .  

Thief  In  the  Dark,  A,  Meeker-Hill-Beebe— 


Sept.  29  Oct  20 
Aug.  4  _____ 


Feb.  4 
Feb.  18 


..July  7 
-July  21 


Why  Sailors  Go  Wrong,  Pnlpps-McNamara.  Mar  25 

Wild  West  Romance  (W),  Rex  King  June  10 

Win  That  Girl,  Rollins-Carol  Sept.  15 

Woman  Wise  (C),  Russell-Collyer   Jan.  8 


May  19     June  2 


Aug.  18   

Oct.  20  Oct  6 
Jan.  28   


Gotham 


Down  Grade,  The,  William  Fairban 
Silent  Avenger,  The,  "Thunder"  Delaney.. 

Slnews  of  Steel,  Alberta  Vaughn  

When  Danger  Calls,  William  Fairbanks- 


Bare  Knees.  Virginia  Lee  Corbln  

Blondes  by  Choice.  Claire  Windsor  

Cheer  Leader.  The,  GraTes-Olmstead- 


..Oct 
-Nov..  1 
-Oct  1 
-Not. 

..June 
_  March 


.April 


Chorus  Kid,  The,  Faire- Washburn— 
Girl  from  Rio,  The,  Myers-Pigeon— 
Head  of  the  Family,  The,  Virginia  Lee  Corbln__Oct 

Hellship  Branson,  Beery-Reid  Hay 

-Aug. 
-Tan. 
.May 
Jan. 
.  Sept. 
-July 


Midnight  Life.  Francis  _  Busnma 

Rose  of  Kildare,  The,  Chadwick-O'Malley  

San  Francisco  Nights,  Percy  Marmont  

Satin  Moman.  The.  Mrs.  Wallace  Reld  

Through  the  Breakers.  Livingston-Herbert  

Turn  Back  the  Hours.  Myrna  Loy  

United  States  Smith,  Gribbon-Lee.  July 


Father  and  Son,  Noah  Beery-Noah  Beery,  Jr... 
Knee  High,  Virginia  Lee  Corbln- 


Modern  Sappho,  A,  Betty  Bronson.    Sept 

River  Woman,  The,  Logan-L.  Barrymore.  Aug. 

Times  Square,  Alice  Day-Lubin   Sept. 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 


Adam  and  Evil  (CD),  Cody-Pringle- 

After  Midnight  (D),  Shearer-Gray  

Annie  Laurie  (D),  Lillian  Gish— _ 


.Aug.  27 


Ben  Hur  (M),  Ramon  Novarro.. 
Big  Parade.  The  (M).  Gilbert-Adoree- 
Bugle  Call,  The  (D),  Jackie  Coogan.. 
Buttons  (CD),  Jackie  Coogan 


-Aug.  20 
-Sept.  IT 
-Oct  8 
-Sept  10 
-Aug.  6 
-Dec  24 


-Aug.  13 
-Aug.  IT 
-May  21 


Callahans  and  Murphys  (CO),  Dressler-Moran— June  18 

Cameraman,  The  (CD),  Buster  Keaton  Sept.  29 

Dancing  Daughter*,  Joan  Crawford  Sept  8 

Fair  Co-ed,  The  (CD),  Marion  Darles  Oct  15 

Garden  of  Allah,  The  (D),  Terry-Petrovltcli  Nov.  5 

In  Old  Kentucky  (D).  H.  CosteUo  Oct  29 

London  After  Midnight  (D),  Lon  Chaney  Dec  3 

Lovelorn,  The,  Sally  O'NetL  Dec  IT 

Lovers  (D),  Novarro- Terry   -p-  9 

Man,  Woman  and  Sin  (D),  John  Gilbert 
Mockery  (M),  Lon  Chaney. 
Quality  Street,  Davies-NageL. 


Sept  15 


July  1« 


Sot.  10 
Nov.  19 
Nov.  26 
Dec  17 
Dec.  31 


-  Sept  22 
Oct  29 
Sept  19 
Dec  3 
Deo.  IT 


Road  to  Romance,  The  (D),  Novarro-Day. 

Spoilen  ot  the  West  (W),  McCoy-Daw  

Spring  Fever  (C),  William  Haines.  

Tea  for  Three  (C),  Cody-Pringle  

Thirteenth  Hour,  The  (D),  Lionel  Barrymore  Nov.  26 

Twelve  Miles  Out  (M),  Gilbert  July  9 

Unknown,  The  (M),  Chaney  June  4 


Actress,  The,  Norma  Shearer-Forbes.. 


Across  to  Singapore  (MD),  Novarro-Crawfon 
Baby  Mine.  Arthur-Dane  


-Hit  *8 


Beyond  the  Sierras  (W),  Tim  McCoy  

Big  City,  The,  Chaney-Compson-Day  

Bringing  Up  Father,  Farrell-Moran-Olmstea 

Brotherly  Love  (C),  Dane-Arthur  

Cardboard  Lover,  The,  Marion  Davles  

Certain  Young  Man,  A,  Novarro-Day  

Circus  Rookies  (CD),  Dane-Arthur  

Cossacks,  The,  Adoree-Gllbert-Torrence  

Crowd,  The,  Boardman-Murray-Roach  


-Jan.  21 
-Sept  15 
-  Feb.  18 
-Mar.  17 
-Oct  12 
-Aug.  18 
-May  19 
-Mar.  31 


Apr.  28 
Jan.  28      Feb.  11 


Feb.  25 
Mar.  31 
Oct  13 


Apr.  I 


June  2     June  XI 


-May  12 


-Mar.  3 


.  July  7 
Apr.  28 


56 


EXHIBITORS  H 


ERALD -WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


■<   Length   Title  and  Player* 


New  Comment 

Pictures 


MB 
TUB 


6838 
S070 
7368 

8436 
7180 
4987 


7743 
7045 
5695 
736S 

5441 

6576 
7650 
6893 
7289 
6028 
7732 

6487 

6801 
9660 
5931 

8090 

7965 

6011 
6721 

"«47 


Detective*.  Dane-Arthur  

Diamond  Handcuffs,  Boardman-Nagel  

Divine  Woman,  Garbo-Hanson-Sherman.  - 

Dream  of  Love,  Joan  Crawford— 


ujune  9 
-  May  5 
..Ian. 14 
.Dec  1 

Enemy,  The.  Gish-Dane-Forbes.  _   Feb.  18 

Excess  Baggage  (D),  WUliam  Haines.  Sept.  1 

Forbidden  Hours  (D),  Novarro-Adoree  June  16 

Four  Walls  (MD),  Gilbert -Crawford  Aug.  18 

Honeymoon,  Moran-Flash-Gribbon  Dec.  29 

Lady  of  Chance  (D).  Shearer- Sherman  Dec.  22 

Latest  from  Paris,  The,  Shearer- Forbes. 
Laugh,  Clown,  Laugh,  Chaney-Murphy-Hisl 

Law  of  the  Range,  McCoy-Crawford  

Love,  Garbo-GUbert  _  

John  Stuart 


Mademoiselle  from  Armentieres,  Estelle-Brody-    June  2 

Masks  of  the  Devil,  John  Gilbert  Nov.  16 

Mysterious  Lady,  The,  Greta  Garbo-NageL  Aug.  11 

Napoleon   (D),  WUdlmir-Dieudonno  Oct.  27 

Patsy,  The.  Davles-Caldwell-Gray  Mar.  10 

Riders  of  the  Dark.  Apr.  28 

Rose  Marie.  Crawford-Murray  Feb.  11 

Show  People  (CD),  Davies-Halnea.  Oct.  9 

Smart  Set.  Halnes-Day-Holt-Bosworth.   -  Feb.  25 

Skirts,  Syd  Chaplin.-  -  —  May  12 

Student  Prince.  The  (R).  Novarro-Shearer  Ian.  30 

Under  the  Black  Eagle.  Forbes-Dog  Flash  Mar.  24 

West  of  Zanzibar  (D),  Ion  Chaney    

West  Point  (CD).  Haines-Crawford.  Ian.  7 

While  the  City  Sleeps  (MD).  Ion  Chaney...   

White  Shadows  in  the  South  Seat  (MD),  Monte 

Blue   -     -July  7        July  7 

Wickedness  Preferred  (CD),  Cody-Pringle. —  Ian.  28    -  Feb.  11 

Wind,  The  (D).  Lillian  Gish.   Nov.  23      Nov.  3 

Woman  of  Affairs  (D),  Garbo-GUbert  

Wyoming,  McCoy- Sebastian     


Sept.  1 
Nov.  17 
May  26 

Oct.  27 
Apr.  7 
May  5 
Feb.  18 
iept.  29 
Mar.  10 
June  2 
Feb.  25 


Apr.  14 


Nov.  14 


Feb.  18 
Oct.  27 
apr.  21 


.Dec.  8 
Jan.  21 


1929 

M   

TME  8000 

TME   

M   

M~ 

ME   

1927 

  6199 

  6951 

  9879 

  6536 

  6662 

  6408 

  7447 

  6296 

  6393 

  6376 

  6017 

  6880 

  6368 

  6634 

  5209 

  6170 

  6516 

  6015 

  6179 

  6838 

  4934 

  6200 

  6124 

  6006 

  6497 

  4926 

  7643 

  8486 

  6935 

MB  12267 
  6960 

1928 

TME  10471 

  6897 

  6099 

  6536 

ME  7805 

  5930 

  7202 

  5665 

  7866 

  5384 

  5889 

  6402 

  6134 

  6918 

  5852 

  7640 

  6871 

  6263 

  6038 

  6528 

sVT   

  6039 

  7464 

—  "7 

  8234 

  7415 

  5887 

7434 


M 
MB 


6411 
5941 
6444 
6741 
7910 
6600 
10171 
6582 
6070 
7828 


..Mar.  24     Apr.  14 


A  Man's  Man.  Halnes-Dunne   

Alias  Jimmy  Valentine  (D),  William  Haines...- Jan.  26 
All  at  Sea,  Dane-Arthur.. 


Bellamy  Trial  (D).  Joy-Bronson.    -  

Flying  Fleet  (D),  Novarro-Page   Jan.  6 

Loves  of  Casanova,  Foreign  Cast   Jan.  19 

Morgans  Last  Raid  (W),  McCoy- Sebastian.   Jan.  5 

Single  Man  (CD),  Cody-Pringle.   Jan.  12 

Tide  of  the  Empire,  Adoree-Duryea   Feb.  2 

Trail  of  "98  (D).  Forbes-Del  Rio  

Paramount 

Afraid  to  Love  (C).  Vldor  April  9 

Barbed  Wire  (D),  Negri-Brook    -Sept.  10 

Beau  Geste  (M),  Colman-N.  Beery   Am.  1 

Chang  (D).  Special  cast..-   Sept.  3 

Children  of  Divorce  (D).  Bow.. 


Sept.  29 


...Dec.  29 


-Apr.  23 
..Aug.  3 


 Apr.  2 

City  Gone  Wild.  The  (M),  Melghan-Millner  Nov.  12 

•Covered  Wagon,  The  (M),  Kerrigan- Wilson.  Aug.  6 

Fashions  for  Women  (CD).  Ralston  Mar.  26 

Firemen  Save  My  Child  (C).  Beery-Hatton.  Aug.  1 

Gay  Defender,  The  (CD).  Richard  Dii.   Dec.  10 

Gentleman  of  Paris.  A  (CD),  MenJou-CHara  Oct.  15 

Get  Your  Man  (CD).  Clara  Bow     Dec.  10 

Running  Wild  (C),  Fields-Brian  Aug.  20 

Senorita  (F),  Daniels    Aug.  30 

Serenade  (D),  Menjou-Wray—  Dec.  24 

Service  for  Ladies  (C),  Menlou-Carver—  Aug.  6 

Shanghai  Bound  (D).  Dix-Brian  -  Oct.  15 

She's  a  Sheik  (C),  Bebe  Daniels  Nov.  12 

Shoe-tin'  Irons  (W),  Luden-Blane    Oct.  8 


..May  2 
.  May  2 

..Dec.  10 


 -...Apr.  9 

_  _  Dec.  10 

 Nov.  12 

  Oct.  8 

Jan.  7   

 June  18 

 _  _..  May  14 

Jan.  14   

  Sept.  3 

Dec.  31  Nov.  12 
Jan.  21      Nov.  26 


 Aug.  27 

..  Nov.  19 


Soft  Cushions  (C),  MacLean-Carol  

Spotlight  The  (CD),  Ralston-HamUton. 

Stark  Love  (D).  Special  cast  —  Sept.  17 

Swim.  Girl  Swim  (CM),  Daniels-Hall—  -Sept.  17 

Tell  It  to  Sweeney  (C).  Conklin-Bancroft  -  Sept.  24 

Ten  Modern  Commandments  (CD).  Ralston.  July  2 

Time  to  Love  (FC).  Raymond  Griffith.  -  June  18 

Underworld  (M).  Bancroft-BrenL  _  -  Oct.  29 

Way  of  All  Flesh,  the  (D),  Jannlngs-Bennett-  Oct.  1 

We're  All  Gamblers  (D),  Melghan-Millner  -       Sept.  3 

Wings  (M).  Charles  Rogers   Oct.  29 

Woman  on  Trial  (0),  Pola  Negri  -  Oct.  29 


Abie's  Irish  Rose  (CD).  Buddy-Rogers-HersholL  

Adventure  Mad  (M).  Hall  -    -   Mar.  31 

Avalanche  (W).  Jack  Holt.   _  ;  

Beau  Sabreur  (M).  Cooper-Brent  Jan.  7 

Beggars  of  Life  (MD).  Wallace  Beery-Brooks-Arlen:>ept.  15 

Big  Killing  (CO).  Beery-Hatton  May  19 

Docks  of  New  York,  The  (D),  Bancroft-Compson..  

Doomsday,  Vidor-Cooper  ._  Feb.  18 

Drag  Net.  The  (MD),  Bancroft-Brent-Powell  May  26 

Easy  Come.  Easy  Go,  Richard  Dii  Apr.  21 

Feel  My  Pulse,  Danlels-Arlen  —  Feb.  25 

Fifty- Fifty  Girl,  The,  Daniels-Hall   May  12 

First  Kiss,  The  (D),  Wray-Cooper  —.Sept  25 

Fleets  In,  The  (CD).  Bow-Hall.  —  

Fools  for  Luck  (CD).  Flelds-Conklln   ....  May  7 

Forgotten  Faces  (MD),  Brook-Brian  -  —  Sept.  11 


Jan.  7 


Dec.  24 


-Nov.  3 
Jan.  14 

..Dec.  1 
Jan.  7 
July  7 


...  Aug.  27 

—  Dec.  3 
...Mar.  19 
...Sept  17 

Oct.  22 
_..  July  23 

—  July  9 
—Sept.  3 
...July  2 

...Aug.  20 
Oct.  1 


Gentlemen  Prefer  Blondes  (C).  Taylor-White  Jan.  28 

Half  a  Bride  (D),  Ralston-Cooper  -  June  16 

His  Tiger  Lady.  Menlou-Brent.  June  9 

Hot  News.  Bebe  Daniels  —  Aug.  14 

Interference,  Brook-Kenyon     Jan.  5 

Just  Married  (CD).  HaU-Taylor-Ford  Aug.  18 

Kit  Carson  (MD).  Fred  Thomson  Aug.  21 

Ladies  of  the  Mob.  Clara  Bow   June  30 

Last  Command,  The  (D).  Emil  Jannings  Jan.  21 

Legion  of  the  Condemned.  Wray-Cooper  Mar.  10 

Love  and  Learn.  Ralston-Cbandler  Jan.  14 

Loves  of  an  Actress  (D).  Pola  Negri —   Sept.  18 

Manhattan  Cocktail.  Carroll...  -   Nov.  24 

Mating  Call.  The  (D),  Thomas  Melghan... 
Model  From  Montmarte  (D).  Nita  Naldl.... 
Moran  of  the  Marines  (D),  Dlx-Elder— . 


Jan.  21 
May  26 
May  19 
Feb.  25 
Mar.  31 
Aug.  4 

..Sept.  22 
Apr.  7 
Aug.  4 
Dec.  10 

Mar.  31 
June  9 


..Oct.  27 
Oct.  17 
June  16 


Mar.  10 
Mar.  19 
Sept  1 
Bept  15 
Mar.  19 
Aug.  4 
Feb.  13 


June  23 
May  26 
Jan.  23 

Jan.  21 
June  23 


June  16 


..Nov.  24 
..Sept  1 


July  7 
Feb.  4 
Apr.  21 
Feb.  25 


Sept.  8 
..Sept.  15 


Night  of  Mystery  (D).  Menjou  Apr.  7 

Old  Ironsides  (D),  Beery-Bancroft  -  Mar.  3 

Partners  In  Crime  (C),  Beery-Hatton  Mar.  17 

Patriot  The  (D).  Emil  Jannings  

Peaks  of  Destiny   Jan.  23 

Pioneer  Scout.  The  (W),  Fred  Thomson.  Jan.  21 

Racket,  The  (D),  Thomas  Melghan  June  30 


Feb.  18 
Feb.  25 
.Sept.  8 
Jan.  7 
Dec  10 


Sound    Length    Title  and  Players 


New  Cossmsnt 

Pictures 


ME  6509 
ME  10400 
  5435 


ME 

1929 

TM   

AT   

TME   

ME  

1927 

  6596 

  6555 

  4335 

  5326 

  4876 

  5412 

  5100 

  7500 

  4933 

  5478 

  8586 

  6599 

  8002 

  6403 

  6568 

  3303 

  5867 

  4968 

  7913 

  4760 

  5990 

  4620 

  6788 

  4890 

TME  13500 

  4131 

  4828 

  6844 

  4542 

  4375 

  6302 

  5880 

  4562 

  4546 

  5397 

  5670 

  4485 

  6610 

  6447 

1928 

  3996 

  6755 

  4805 

  5927 

  6589 

  4833 

  5408 

4550 

  7996 

  4526 

  6670 

4480 

  5398 

7056 

  4155 

  6650 

5888 

  7530 

  4600 

  5660 

  6954 

  5494 

  6626 

  6092 

  7935 

  6902 

  7040 

  5423 

  6370 

1927 

  6089 

  5076 

  5916 

  5960 

  6970 

  5602 

  4200 

1928 

— ...  6089 

  6673 

  5937 

  6076 

  4533 

  6683 

  5976 

  6853 

  6800 

  47DT 


Red  Hair  (CD).  Bow-Chandler.. 

Sawdust  Paradise,  The,  Esther  Ralston  

Secret  Hour,  The  (D),  Negri -Hersholt  

Sins  of  the  Fathers  (D),  Emil  Jannings.. 

Showdown.    The,  Bancroft   

Someone  to  Love  (CD).  Brian-Rogers... 
Something  Always  Happens.  Ralston-Hamllton.. 

Speedy   (C).  Harold  Lloyd  

Sporting    Goods.    Dix-Olmstead   ... 

Street  of  Sin  (D),  Jannings-Wrsy  


Sunset  Legion  (W),  Fred  Thomson  

Three  Sinners  (D),  Negri-Baxter   

Three  Week  Ends,  Clara  Bow   

Tillle's  Punctured  Romance,  Flelds-Conklin— . 

Under  the  Tonto   Rim,  Arlen- Brian  

Vanishing  Pioneer,  The  (W),  Jack  Holt  

Varsity  (D),  Rogers-Brian  


_Mar.  10 
-Aug.  25 
,  Feb.  4 

_  Feb.  25 

-Mar.  24 
-Apr.  7 
.-Feb.  11 
_  May  26 
_  Apr.  21 
..  Apr.  14 


Mar.  3 
June  9 


..Oct.  20 
Feb.  18 

.  Dec  29 
Mar.  3 
Apr.  28 
Feb.  18 
apr.  28 


Feb.  18 
Dec.  22 
Dee.  16 
Apr.  21 
Feb.  18 
May  26 


Water  Hole.  The  (W).  Jack  Holt   _ 

Warming  Up,  Richard  Dix  „  „   

Wedding  March,  The  (D),  Erich  Ton  Strohelm. 
Wife  Savers  (C).  Beery-Hatton. 


6938     Woman  From  Moscow,  The  (D),  Negri-Keny- 


..  Feb.  18 
_  Feb.  4 
..  June  23 
.  Sept.  29 
..Aug.  25 
.  Aug.  11 
.  Oct.  6 
Jan.  7 


Apr.  7 
Dec.  22 
Feb.  25 


May  I 


Aug.  4 
July  21 
May  26 

Oct.  27 

..June  19 


Nov.  3 
Sept  15 


Canary  Murder  Case  

Carnation  Kid,  The  

Shopworn  Angel.  The .. 
Wolf  of  Wall  Street— 


 Jan.  19 

   Jan.  26 

 Jan.  12 

  Jan.  26 


Pathe 


Almost  Human   (CD).  Reynolds   

Angel  of  Broadway.  The  (D),  Leatrice  Joy  

Avenging   Fangs  (M)   

Border  Blackbirds  (WD),  Maloney  

Born  to  Battle  (W),  BUI  Cody   

Code  of  the  Cow  Country  (W),  Roosevelt  

Combat    (D).  Walsh   

Country  Doctor,  The  (D),  Schlldkraut  .  

Desert  of  the  Lost.  The  (W).  WaUy  Wales— 

Devil's  Twin,  The  (W).  Leo  Maloney  

Discord  (D),  Lagover-Ekman   

Dress  Parade  (D),  Boyd—  _   

Fighting  Eagle.  The  (M).  La  Rocque-Haver  

Flying  Luck  (C).  Monty  Banks   

Forbidden  Woman.  The  (M),  Jetta  Goudal  

Girl  from  Everywhere  (C),  Pollard.   

Girl  in  the  Pullman,  The  (C).  Prevost  

Gold  from  Weepah  (W),  Bill  Cody  -  _ 

Golden  Clown,  The  (O),  Gosta-Ekman  

'Grandma's  Boy  (C),  Harold  Lloyd  

Harp  in  Hock,  A  (O),  Snhildkraut-Coghlan— 

Hidden  Aces  (M).  Hutchinson...-  

His  Dog  (D).  Schildltraut.  -  -   

His  Foreiqn  Wife  (D).  MaeDonald-Murphy  

King  of   Kings   (D),   All  Star  _  

Land  of  the  Lawless.  The  (W).  Jack  Padjan.. 

Pirates  of  the  Sky  (M),  Hutchison  —  

Rejuvenation  of  Aunt  Mary  (C),  Robson  

Ride  'Em  High  (W).  Buddy  Roosevelt  

Roarin'  Broncs.  Buffalo  Bill.  Jr   

Rubber  Tires   (C).   Ford-Love   _  _. 

Rush  Hour,  The  (C).  Prevost—  _  _. 

Skedaddle  Gold  (W),  Wales. 


....  Dec.  2« 
—Oct.  3 

—  June  5 
....  aug.  28 

—  Sept.  11 
—June  19 
...  Oct.  23 
...  Aug.  22 

—  Dec.  18 
-Dec  11 
—Nov.  20 
—Nov.  11 
—Aug.  29 

—  Dec  4 
...  Nov.  7 

—  Dec.  11 

—  Oct.  31 
—Nov.  20 

—  Dec  18 

—  Dec.  11 
-Oct  10 
■  Aug.  7 

■  July  21 

—  Nov.  27 


Nov.  19     Nov.  5 

 June  4 

 Sept  It 

,   June  IT 

 Oct  15 


Nov.  19  Nov.  6 
 Sept  IT 

Nov.  12     Nov.  8— 

 Nov.  5 

Nov.  19     Nor.  5 


Nov.  12     Nov.  6 

 Sept  3 

 July  24 


•Dec.  25 
-  May  22 


Oct.  * 
■Nov.  27 


...May  21 
-Ate  6 


Dec.  12 
July  31 
Sept.  25 
Nov.  11 
July  17 
Aug.  7 
Oct  24 

Wreck  of  the  Hesperus,  The  (M),  Bradford.  Oct.  31 


.  Apr.  ( 


Soda-Water  Cowboy.  The  (W).  WaUy  Wales. 

Turkish   Delight  Schildkraut-Faye.   — 

Two-Gun  of  Tumbleweed  (W).  Leo  Maloney.- 

White  Pebbles  (WD),  WaUy  Walea.  

Wise  Wife.  The  (C),  Haver— 


..  Aug.  6 

-Oct.  1 


 July  IT 

 Aug.  20 

Nov.  19      Nov.  5 


Alice  Through  a  Looking  Glass  —  Feb.  11   

Apache  Raider.  The.  Leo  Maloney   Feb.  11  May  12 

Ballyhoo  Buster  (W).  Buffalo  BUI.  Jr    Jan.  8 

Blonde  tor  a  Night,  Prevost    Feb.  2T  Mar.  3 

Blue  Danube,  Leatrice  Joy._    Mar.  11  Feb.  18 

Boss  of  Rustlers  Roost  The.  Don  Coleman  Jan.  22  May  12 

Bronc'  Stomper.  The.  Don  Coleman.   _  Feb.  26  Mar.  IT 

Bullet  Mark,  The.  Jack  Donovan—  „  _  Mar.  25  May  It 

Chicago  (M),  PhyUis  Haver   Mar.  5  Dec.  24 

Cowboy  Cavalier  (W).  Buddy  Roosevelt    Jan.  2t  Feb.  4 

Craig's  Wife  (D),  Irene  Rich    —Sept.  16  Sept.  11 

Crashing  Through,  Jack  Padjan—   Feb.  5  

Desperate  Courage  (W),  Wales   _  _  Jan.  II  

Hold  'Em  Yale.  Rod  La  Rocque   May  13  May  19 

taddle  Be  Good  (W),  BUI  Cody    .Jan.  1   

teopard  Lady,  The  (W),  Logan   —.Jan.  23  Jan.  28 

Let  'Er  Go.  Gallagher!  (M).  Junior  Coglan.  Jan.  It  Jan.  28 

Love  Over  Night  (CD).  Rod  La  Rocque.   Nov.  25   

Marlie.  the  Killer,  Klondike   Mar.  4   

Midnight  Madness,  Logan—   Mar.  26  Mar.  IT 

Night  Flyer,  The,  Wm.  Boyd   _  Feb.  5   

On  to  Reno  (D).  Prevost   _   Jan.  2  Jan.  28 

Perfect  Gentleman,  A  (C),  Monty  Banks   Jan.  15  

Power  (CD),  Boyd-Hale.  -  __   Sept  23  Oct.  13 

Red  Mark.  The  (D),  Special  Cast  Aug.  26  July  14 

Ship  Comes  in.  A,  Rudolph  SchUdkrauL  June  4  rune  16 

Skyscraper,  Boyd     Apr.  t   

Stand  and  Deliver,  Rod  La  Rocque   reb.  20  May  11 

Tenth  Avenue,  Haver-Varconi   Aug.  5  July  14 

Rayart 

Cruise  of  the  Hellon  (D),  All  star  

Heroes  in  Blue  (M),  Bowers-Rand  -  — Nov.  

taw  and  the  Man.  The  (D).  Santschi -Rockwell—  Dec.   

Light  in  the  Window.  A  <D),  WalthaU.  

On  the  Stroke  of  Twelve  (M).  D.  Torrence—  -Nov.   

Silent  Hero   (M),  Bonaparte   

Wanderer  of  the  West,  A  (W).  Tex  Maynard.  Dec 

Black  Pearl,  The  (D),  Lila  Lee-Hallor  Dec. 

Branded  Man,  The  (D),  Chas.  Delaney-Marlowe-May 

Casey  Jones  (CD),  Price-Lewis  -  Jan. 

City  of  Purple  Dreams,  The,  Bedford-Frazer  Sept. 

Danger  Patrol.  The  (D),  Russell- Fair  Jan. 

Devil's  Tower.  The  (W).  Buddy  Roosevelt   June 

Divine  Sinner.  The  (D).  Vera  Reynoldi-Hllllard..July 

Gypsy  of  the  North  (D).  Gordon-Hale   Apr. 

Heart  of  Broadway.  The  (D),  Garon-Agnew  Mar. 

Isle  of  Lost  Men  (D).  Santschl-Connor  Oct. 

Lightning  Shot  The  (W).  Buddy  Roosevelt.  May 

{Continued  on  page  65) 


May  16 


-Sept  24 


— Aug.  It 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


57 


CLASSIFIED 
Advertising 

Ten  cents  per  word,  payable  in  advance.  Minimum  charge, 
$1.00.  Copy  and  checks  should  be  addressed  Classified  Ad  Dept. 
Exhibitors  Herald-World,  407  So.  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

The    Recognized    National    Classified    Advertising  Medium 


Business  Opportunities 

TWO  motion  picture  theatres,  about  900  seats,  in 
Ohio  between  CleTeland  and  Youngstown,  9000  popu- 
lation, big  drawing  power.  One  theatre  equipped  for 
road  shows.  Seven  day  town,  no  competition.  Price 
$45,000,  half  cast  A  sacrifice.  Must  be  sold  quick. 
Inquire  Box  340,  Exhibitors  Herald- World,  407  S. 
Dearborn  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

Position  W anted 

ATTORNEY — Formerly  Film  Executive  of  ten 
years'  experience  in  Distribution.  Can  aid  Executive 
generally  and  act  in  liaison  capacity  between  business 
and  legal  departments.  Address  Box  342,  Exhibitors 
Herald-World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago,  HI. 

OKGANIST — Experts  thoroughly  trained  in  show- 
manship available  at  all  times  for  first-class  positions. 
Men  and  women.  No  service  charge.  Write  full  in- 
formation concerning  salary,  organ,  hours,  etc  Ad- 
dress Vermond  Knauss  School  of  Theatre  Organ 
Playing.  210  N.  7th  St.,  Allentown,  Pa. 

ORGANIST  AT  LIBERTY  NOW— Experienced, 
capable,  efficient,  splendid  sight  reader,  complete 
library  can  cue  all  type  of  pictures,  present  slide 
novelties,  will  go  anywhere.  References.  Address 
Box  336,  Exhibitors  Herald-World,  407  S.  Dearborn 
St..  Chicago,  111. 

FEMALE  ORGANIST  is  looking  for  a  position, 
will  be  free  January  1st.  Am  well  recommended, 
reason  for  leaving  due  to  Vitaphone.  Can  play  on 
all  makes.  Single,  will  go  anywhere,  can  cue  pictures 
correctly  and  accurately.  Will  start  for  reaaonable 
salary  in  order  to  prove  worth.  Address  Box  289, 
Exhibitors  Herald-World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St.,  Chi- 
cago,  III. 

ORGANIST  FIFTEEN  YEARS  EXPERIENCE — 
First-class  Chicago  Organist.  (Male.)  Reason  for 
leaving  due  to  Vitaphone.  Expert  Synchronization 
of  music  to  the  picture.  Novelty  and  straight  solo 
work.  Large  library.  Union,  married,  will  go  any- 
where. Best  of  references.  Salarv  can  be  satisfac- 
torily arranged.  Address  Box  338,  Exhibitors  Herald- 
World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago,  111. 


Equipment  for  Sale 


FOR  SALE— 320  18'  veneer  chairs  $1.50—270 
veneer  chairs  18"  $1.40 — 370  18"  veneer  chairs  $1.30 
— 250  21"  veneer  chairs  $1.45 — 475  veneer  20"  like 
tew  $1.90  all  castings  perfect  and  veneer  in  fine  con- 
dition. 2  Monograph  Model  1002-E  motor  drive  ma- 
chines complete  with  lens,  fine  condition,  $550.00  for 
pair.  2  Simplex  motor  drive  Type  S  lamphonses  and 
Peerless  arc  controls  with  lens.  $650.00  for  both.  1 
Powers  6B  motor  drive  with  lens,  wonderful  condi- 
tion. $250.00.  The  Theatre  Seating  Company,  845 
S.  State  St.,  Chicago,  111. 


1200 — Upholstered  Theatre  Chairs. 
1000 — Veneer  Theatre  Chairs. 
500 — Upholstered  Chairs  with  spring  seats,  panel 
back 

Also  all  makes  REBUILT  projectors,  spotlights, 
reflector  lamps,  screens.  Everything  for  the  theatre 
at  bargain  prices.  Address  AMUSEMENT  SUPPLY 
CO.,  INC.,  729  Seventh  Avenue,  New  York  City. 


THEATRE  EQUIPMENT,  new  and  used.  Opera 
chairs,  projectors,  screens,  generators,  rectifiers,  re- 
flecting arc  lamps,  etc  Write  for  bargain  list  and 
catalogue.  Address  Movie  Supply  Co.,  844  Wabash, 
Chicago. 


POWERS  AND  SIMPLEX  PARTS,  20%  and  30% 
discount.  Two  Powers  6  B  with  Peerless  lamps.  Will 
sell  separately.  Bargains.  Address  Carol  Fenyvessy, 
62  St.  Paul  St..  Rochester.  N.  Y  

FOR  SALE — Reflector  Arc  Lamps  and  accessories, 
also  guaranteed  rebuilt  Powers  6-A  and  6-B  and  Sim- 
plex Heads.  Best  Prices.  Write  Joseph  Spratler, 
12-14  E.  Ninth  St..  Chicago.  111.  

CHICAGO  CLEARING  HOUSE— Our  bargain  list 
on  rebuilt  Projectors,  Powers  6-A  Motor  driven  ma- 
chines, including  12  rebuilt  Simplex  motor  driven 
machines  with  latest  Simplex  type  S  lamp  houses 
Prices  ranging  from  $175.00  and  up.  Peerless  arc 
controls  $35.00  per  pair.  Compensarcs  all  makes, 
$20.00  and  up.  Rebuilt  Generators  at  reasonable 
prices.  AC  and  DC  Electric  fans  rebuilt,  just  like 
new.  Write  for  complete  list  of  your  needs  and 
prices.  No  obligation.  Address  Illinois  Theatre 
Equipment  Co..  12-14  E.  Ninth  St..  Chicago.  111. 

POWERS  AND  SIMPLEX  PARTS  at  2U  per 
cent  and  30  per  cent  reduction.  Reflector  arc  lamps 
cheap.  Address  Carol  Fenyvessy,  62  St.  Paul  St., 
Rochester.  N.  Y. 


Chairs  for  Sale 


1000— of  the  very  finest  brand  new  veneer  chairs 
manufactured  by  Heywood-Wakefield.  Way  below 
cost.  Shipment  in  forty-eight  hours.  Write  today  for 
exact  photo  and  full  details.  C.  G.  Demel,  845  South 
State,  Chicago,  111.  

BIG  BARGAIN  in  used  Opera  chairs,  600  uphol- 
stered,  800  Veneer.  Address  Movie  Supply  Co., 
844  Wabash  Ave..  Chicago.  111.  

Just  received  4,000  highest  grade  spring  constructed 
upholstered  Theatre  Chairs,  less  than  2  years  old.  at 
very  reasonable  prices.  Also  several  other  lots  of  up- 
holstered and  veneered  Theatre  Chairs,  as  well  as  500 
Portable  Assembly  Chairs.  Write  for  complete  list 
and  description  of  all  equipment.  You  are  under  no 
obligation.  Illinois  Theatre  Equipment  Co.,  12-14  E. 
Ninth  St.,  Chicago,  III. 


Stationery 

■•NEARGRAVURE"  —  "Neargravuremboso"  (no. 
plate  embossing)  processes.  Special  500  8H*11"  let- 
ter heads,  250  envelopes  Neargravure  $4.44  cash,  post 
paid.    Samples.  Address  Sollidays,  XH124,  Knox,  Ind. 


For  Sale 


FOR  SALE — Used  Reproduco  player  organ  with 
large  library  music  rolls.  Excellent  condition.  Arcade 
Theatre.  Brookhaven.  Mississippi. 

SEEBURG  Electric  Orchestration.  Several  different 
attachments.  One  year  old — good  condition.  Cost 
$1600.00  Will  sell  for  $350.00.  Happyland  theatre, 
Port  Gibson.  Miss.  

OPERA  CHAIRS,  seats  and  backs  for  all  makes, 
five  ply,  at  prices  that  save  you  half.  New  and  used 
Opera  chairs.  Address  J.  P.  Redington  &  Co.,  Scran- 
ton.  Pa.  

REFERENCE  BOOKS— Motion  Picture  Trade  Di- 
rector, $10;  Anatomy  of  Motion  Picture  Art,  $2.50. 
Films  of  the  Year,  $2.50;  Close  Up,  annual  subscrip- 
tion $3.50.  These  books  may  be  ordered  through  us. 
Send  check  or  money  order  with  your  request.  Ad- 
dress Exhibitors  Herald-World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St., 
Chicago,  111. 


Theatre  for  Sale 


NO  COMPETITION.  Population  1600.  Other  busi- 
ness after  January  15th.  Reasonable  if  taken  at  once. 
Address  Box  677,  Stockton.  HI. 


APOLLO  THEATRE,  Princeton,  111.,  county  seat, 
5000  population.  Lease  runs  seven  years,  875  seats, 
low  rent,  newly  decorated,  new  screens,  new  stage 
and  window  drapes,  best  equipment,  own  everything 
in  theatre,  showing  best  first  run  pictures.  Priced  to 
sell.  It  will  make  you  money.  Selling  on  account  of 
health.    Address  Miles  S.  Fox,  Owner. 

Theatre  Wanted 

AT  ONCE.  ANY  TOWN  OVER  2000  POPULA- 
TION.  PREFER  LEASE.  WILL  CONSIDER  BUY- 
INC.  10  YEARS— SUCCESSFUL  MANAGEMENT. 
ADDRESS  BOX  339,  EXHIBITORS  HERALD- 
WORLD,  407  S.  DEARBORN  ST.,  CHICAGO. 

Theatre  for  Lease 

NEWLY  REMODELED  second  run  theatre,  fully 
equipped,  excellent  contracts,  reasonable  rent.  Grow- 
ing western  town  with  big  future.  Address  Box  341, 
Exhibitors  Herald-World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St, 
Chicago,  111. 


Organs  for  Sale 


FOR  SALE:  Bartola  Pipe  Organ.  Used  Wurlitzer 
Pipe  Organ,  model  U,  very  reasonable.  Cremona 
Pipe  Organ,  used  or  new.  Reproduco  Pipe  Organs. 
Address  S.  B.  McFadden,  Havana,  III 

Gift  Night  Souvenirs 

GIFT  NIGHT  MERCHANDISE:  Over  300  fine 
novelties  in  our  large  free  catalog  at  genuine  whole- 
sale prices.  Write  today.  No  obligation.  Address 
Fair  Trading  Co.,  Inc.,  140  W.  21st.  St.,  New  York. 

Projector  Repairing 

BEST  SHOP  for  repairing  projection  machines. 
Prompt  service,  reasonable  prices.  Address  Movie 
Supply  Co..  844   Wabash,  Chicago.  

SKILLED  MECHANICS,  specialized  tools,  and  a 
shop  equipped  for  but  one  purpose  can  offer  you 
nothing  but  the  best  in  repair  work.  That  is  what  I 
have,  and  I  can  offer  you  the  best  in  the  overhauling 
of  your  motion  picture  machinery  equipment.  One 
of  the  oldest  repair  men  in  the  territory,  and  serving 
some  of  the  largest  houses.  Relief  equipment  fur- 
nished free.  For  results  bring  your  work  to  Joseph 
Spratler.  1214  E.  Ninth  St..  Chicago.  III. 


Miscellaneous 


WANTED — -Worn  out  films,  scrap  and  surplus 
stocks  in  any  quantity.  We  supply  steel  drums  ap- 
proved by  fire  departments  everywhere.  Address 
Master-Craft  Products  Co.,  4535  Fifth  Avenue,  Chi- 
cago. 111.  

WANTED:  Talking  Pictures,  with  records  for 
road  show.  Address  Walter  J.  Tenny,  Box  515,  Sacra- 
mento, Calif. 

Equipment  W anted 

WANTED — 2  Peerless  or  Powers  Projectors,  also 
Strong  reflector  arc  lamps.  State  price,  condition 
and  number  of  machines.  Will  pay  cash,  or  one- 
third  down  and  balance  C.O.D.  Address  Box  337, 
Exhibitors  Herald-World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St.,  Chi- 
cago, 111.  

HIGHEST  PRICES  paid  for  used  opera  chairs, 
projection  machines,  etc.  Address  Movie  Supply  Ce., 
S44  Wabash.  Chicago  

WANT  SEVERAL  MERCURY  RECTIFIERS, 
good,  bad  or  incomplete,  cheap.  Address  Preddey, 
188  Golden  Gate  Ave.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 


Your  Classified  Ad  Will  Do  the  Work 

Exhibitors  Herald-World  has  helped  hundreds  of  Theatre  owners  in  solving  many  a  problem.  The  classified  advertising 
department  has  placed  organists  all  over  the  country,  has  helped  in  obtaining  equipment,  in  selling  equipment,  and  in 
solving  many  another  problem  that  seemed  difficult.  The  rates  are  but  10c  per  w  ord  payable  with  order,  10%  discount 
if  run  for  3  insertions.  See  this  week's  classified  pages.  Maybe  you  are  in  need  of  something  that  is  being  advertised  this 
week.    The  cost  is  small,  the  results  are  great. 


5tf 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


LETTERS 
From  Readers 

A  forum  at  which  the  exhibitor  is 
invited  to  express  his  opinion  on 
matters  of  current  interest.  Brevity 
adds  forcefulness  to  any  statement. 
Unsigned  letters  will  not  be  printed. 


Another  Opinion  on  Posters 

MILWAUKEE,  WIS.— To  the  Editor:  I 
was  particularly  interested  in  a  letter  which 
was  published  in  your  "Letters  From  Read- 
ers" section  under  the  name  of  Glendon  All- 
vine,  director  of  Advertising  and  Publicity, 
Fox  Film  Corporation,  New  York  City,  in 
your  issue  of  November  27,  1928. 

The  letter  was  of  particular  interest  to  me 
for  the  reason  that  Mr.  Allvine  expressed  the 
belief  that  the  illustrated  art  work  and  poster 
ideas  contained  in  an  article  by  Al  Nelson  in 
reference  to  the  work  of  L.  G.  MacDaniel, 
poster  artist  at  the  Alhambra  theatre,  Mil- 
waukee, not  only  lacked  originality  but  was  a 
plagiarization  on  the  work  of  C.  E.  Millard, 
artist  at  the  Roxy  theatre,  New  York.  Mr. 
Nelson's  article,  incidentally,  was  published  in 
the  Better  Theatres  section  of  Exhibitors 
Herald  and  Moving  Picture  World  of  No- 
vember 24. 

Mr.  Allvine  very  generously  stated  in  his 
letter  that  he  liked  the  two  MacDaniel  posters 
illustrated  for  the  Universal  picture,  "Jazz 
Mad"  used  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Nelson's 
article.  I  congratulate  Mr.  Allvine  on  his 
artistic  appreciation,  regardless  of  the  fact  that 
he  linked  these  posters  with  Fox  art  work  on 

"Dry  Martini"  and  "Vampire  a  la  Mode." 

*  *  * 

Granting  that  there  was  an  infringement  on 
the  above-mentioned  art  work,  I  must  state,  in 
fairness  to  Mr.  Allvine's  enviable  knowledge 
of  the  theatre  business,  that  originality,  after 
all,  is  but  the  culmination  of  ideas  that  have 
been  cultivated  through  the  experience  of  con- 
tact with  fellow  theatremen.  However,  I  am 
glad  to  state  that  there  is  nothing  in  Mr.  Mac- 
Daniel's  make-up  that  would  prompt  him  to 
"harm  the  brain-child"  of  another  and  this 
was  not  planned  when  he  worked  out  his 
"Jazz  Mad"  posters. 

According  to  the  routine  of  theatre  work, 
there  are  weeks  when  heavy  schedules  do  not 
allow  an  artist  sufficient  time  to  delve  into 
purely  original  work.  On  occasions  of  this 
kind  he  goes  to  his  "morgue"  or  reference 
library,  where  he  finds  ideas  that  are  most 
applicable  for  that  which  he  has  in  mind. 
When  time  is  less  pressing,  he  works  out  his 
own  ideas.  I  know,  from  experience,  that 
this  is  a  routine  that  every  ambitious  artist 
follows. 

*  *  * 

In  fact,  I  will  venture  the  opinion  that 
should  either  Mr.  Miller  or  Arthur  P.  Dick- 
son of  the  Fox  art  department,  be  questioned 
about  the  originality  of  many  of  their  out- 
standing ideas  they  would  say  in  fairness  to 
themselves  as  most  any  outstanding  artist 
would  say,  that  they  had  benefited  themselves 
not  only  by  their  own  ideas  but  by  those  of 
many  of  their  competing  contemporaries. 

May  I  conclude  by  stating  that  Mr.  Mac- 
Daniel has  gained  his  rating  as  one  of  the 
leading  poster  artists  of  the  Middle  West  both 
through  his  natural  ability  and  his  desire  to 
consider  and  value  the  work  of  his  fellow 
artists. — John  Meara,  exploitation  manager, 
Milwaukee  Theatre  Circuit,  Inc.,  Milwaukee, 
Wis. 


i  Interchangeability 

V  ALEXANDRIA,  MINN.— To  the  Editor: 
I  am  very  much  amused  at  the  antics  J.  C,  is 
performing — like  a  Dutchman's  Flea — here  to- 
day and  away  across  the  country  tomorrow. 
And  he  must  have  the  old  Oliver  hung  on  the 
dash  of  Marie  or  how  could  he  peck  off  those 
pertinent  remarks  so  regular. 

Boy,  how  he  hands  it  to  the  Gang.  First 


Trags,  then  Phil,  Gailey,  the  Rabbi,  or  who- 
ever he  happens  to  think  of.  But  then  some 
of  them  are  a  trifle  lax  in  keeping  the  rest 
of  us  posted  about  what  they  are  doing  so 
maybe  it  will  stir  them  up.  Now  take  me  for 
instance,  I  always  drop  a  line  once  a  year  so 
he  leaves  me  alone. 

Well,  sir,  I  am  very  much  interested  in  the 
different  versions  the  boys  have,  as  to  sound, 
and  of  course  their  various  opinions  concern- 
ing the  pictures,  flivvers  or  what  have  you. 
But  I  agree  with  them  mostly  that  pictures 
are  not  enough  to  pull  them  in  of  recent 
months  and  here  I  can  get  a  decent  crowd  only 
when  I  have  vaudeville  or  an  added  attraction, 
so  I  guess  pictures  are  passe. 

*  *  * 

People  have  been  led,  so  many  times,  to 
believe  many  pictures  were  supers.  They  were 
over  expectant  and  after  sitting  through  a 
super-splasher  they  just  quit  us  cold,  so  I 
guess  most  of  us  will  have  to  give  them  some- 
thing besides  just  pictures.  But  where  are  we 
to  get  off  at?  No  limit  to  cost  of  equipment 
to  give  them  sound,  no  margin  for  us  when 
we  use  a  sound  picture  as  the  producers  see 
another  way  to  bleed  us  foolish  people  who 
buy.  But  the  most  perplexing  problem  for 
those  that  are  interested  in  sound  is  will  this 
or  that  equipment  allow  us  to  use  the  different 
pictures  from  the  many  producers,  or  when 
will  they  get  together  and  concentrate  on  one 
certain  equipment  that  will  allow  all  produc- 
tions to  be  used  on  a  chosen  make. 

It  is  unreasonable  to  expect  us  to  buy  a 
Simplex,  a  Powers,  and  all  of  the  other  pro- 
jectors to  use  certain  productions  that  this  or 
that  producer  may  tie  to,  and  it  is  the  same 
with  sound  equipment.  They  cannot  expect 
us  to  equip  with  the  many  different  sound  de- 
vices just  because  they  cannot  get  together. 

It  is  very  similar  to  the  period  when  some 
of  the  railway  systems  used  broad  gauge  and 
some  of  them  used  narrow  gauge  tracks.  We 
were  forced  to  unload  and  get  aboard  again 
if  we  wanted  to  get  anywhere.  So  it  is  now 
with  the  many  devices  coming  out  to  produce 
sound  pictures  or  talkies.  If  we  want  to  use 
the  product  of  several  producers  we  will  have 

to  unload  and  load  up  again. 

*  *  * 

As  it  stands  now,  it  would  be  very  foolish 
to  buy  anything  until  sound  equipment  is 
stabilized,  put  within  reach  of  all  with  the 
product  to  be  furnished  so-  that  we  can  live, 
and  to  be  assured  that  there  will  be  some  serv- 
ice guaranteed  in  case  it  slips  a  cog. 

Possibly  this  problem  is  one  for  Will  Hays 
and  Abram  F.  Myers  to  concentrate  on  and 
bring  the  various  factions  together  on  some 
form  of  contract  that  will  not  only  protect 
the  producer  but  will  also  protect  the  buyer 
of  pictures  having  sound. 

It  certainly  will  be  necessary  to  change  the 
present  contract  forms  used  by  producers  and 
at  the  present  accepted  by  the  exhibitor  offi- 
cials, but  it  is  apparently  a  one-sided  affair, 
now  that  they  are  including  sound  clauses  and 
whatever  they  feel  belongs  in  the  contract. 

If  Mr.  Myers  did  the  proper  thing  he  should 
rip  out  about  two-thirds  of  the  old  contract 
and  form  one  that  is  just  and  equitable  which 
I  am  sure  all  exhibitors  would  sponsor. 

I  believe  the  producers  are  tied  up  tight  by 
the  manufacturers  of  sound  equipment  at 
present,  and  that  it  will  take  a  combination  of 
producers  and  exhibitors  working  hand  in  hand 
to  get  aligned  properly;  for  after  all  it  is  the 
big  boys  on  Wall  street  that  ply  the  whip  in^ 
every  channel  of  this  industry  just  now.— 
H.  J.  Longaker,  State  theatre,  Alexandria^ 
Minn.  / 

Says  He's  Exhibitor's  Son; 
Bad  Checks,  2  Years  in  Pen 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

SHARON  SPRINGS,  KAN.,  Jan.  2.— A 
two-year  sentence  in  the  penitentiary  was  im- 
posed on  R.  H.  Emert,  convicted  of  passing 
bad  checks  on  several  exchanges  and  stores 
and  representing  himself  tc  be  the  son  of 
W.  E.  Ward,  manager  of  the  Strand  theatre. 
He  is  not  a  son  of  Ward. 


Talking  of  Airplane  Patrol 
To  Keep  Planes  from  Studios 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

CULVER  CITY,  Jan.  2.— To  in- 
sure the  safety  of  talking  pictures,  an 
airplane  patrol  may  be  necessary  to 
keep  stray  airplanes  from  flying  over 
the  M  G  M  Studios.  Auto  traffic  was 
successfully  halted  while  making  the 
picture  "Hallelujah,"  and  now  air- 
planes wil  have  to  be  halted  if  they 
continue  to  disturb  the  singing 
choruses  in  "Hallelujah." 


Board  of  Trade  Gives 
Town  New  Theatre  to 
Draw  Country  Business 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

GALT,  ONT,  Jan.  2.— The  new  Board 
of  Trade,  numbering  353  active  members, 
has  launched  a  theatre  project  for  the  town 
because  of  the  belief  that  country  trade  was 
being  attracted  to  other  centers  because  of 
theatre  facilities.  Within  two  weeks  the 
new  board  found  that  the  local  issue  of 
stock  for  the  theatre  had  been  oversub- 
scribed, many  local  merchants  taking  stock 
as  a  matter  of  good  business.  R.  O.  Mc- 
Cullough,  Gait  manufacturer,  is  directing 
the  theatre  scheme. 


M.  E.  Cory  Elected  Head 
Of  San  Francisco  Board 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
SAN    FRANCISCO,    Jan.    2.— The  San 
Francisco  Board  of  Trade  has  elected  the 
following  officers: 

President,  M.  E.  Cory,  Pathe;  vice-presi- 
dent, J.  J.  Pattridge,  Paramount;  secretary- 
treasurer,  W.  E.  Matthews,  F  B  O.  These 
officers,  with  G.  C.  Parsons  of  Metro-Gold- 
wyn-Mayer,  and  Charles  Muehlman  of  First 
National,  comprise  the  board  of  governors. 
Milton  A.  Nathan,  who  has  been  counsel  for 
the  organization  since  it  was  formed,  and 
who  has  served  as  secretary  for  several 
years,  continues  as  counsel.  The  retiring 
president,  G.  C.  Parsons,  was  presented  with 
an  appropriate  gift  in  appreciation  of  his 
efforts. 


Children  Are  Barred 
From  "Wedding  March 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

CALGARY,  Jan.  2.— Practically  the  first 
restriction  on  a  sound  feature  in  Canada 
from  an  official  source  was  experienced  at 
the  Capitol  theatre  when  "The  Wedding 
March"  was  shown.  The  production  was  passed 
by  the  Alberta  moving  picture  censor  but 
with  the  proviso  that  it  should  only  be  pre- 
sented before  adult  audiences.  Manager 
Hazza  therefore  had  to  announce  that  no 
children  would  be  admitted  to  any  per- 
formance. 


Sound  Device  Invented 
By  Portland,  Ore.,  Mgr. 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
PORTLAND,  ORE.,  Jan.  2.— The  Audio- 
graph Company  has  been  formed  by  P.  A. 
Carlin,  20,  inventor  and  manager  of  the 
Senate  theatre.  The  apparatus  is  portable  and 
interchangeable,  using  discs. 


Thomas  Co-stars  with  Jeans 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

LONDON,  Jan.  2.  —  Jameson  Thomas 
has  been  signed  to  play  the  male  lead  in 
"Power  Over  Man,"  a  British  Filmcraft 
picture.  Isabel  Jeans  will  play  the  leading 
1  vdv. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


59 


WHAT  THE  PICTURE  DID  FOR  ME 

Verdicts  on  Films  in  Language  of  Exhibitor 


Columbia 

SALLY  IN  OUR  ALLEY:  Shirley  Mason— Decem- 
ber 18-19.  Pleasing  program  picture.  Six  reels.— 
William  E.  Tragsdorf,  Trags  theatre,  Neillsville, 
Wis. — Small  town  patronage. 

THE  MATINEE  IDOL:  Bessie  Love— 21%.  De- 
cember 16.  A  dandy  comedy  drama.  Cold  weather 
prevented  anyone  from  coming.  Six  reels. — Mrs. 
Hulda  J.  Green,  Gem  theatre,  Greenriver,  Utah. — 
General  patronage. 

THE  WARNING:  Jack  Holt— Fair  program. — J. 
L.  Seiter,  Selma  theatre,  Selma,  Cal. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  WAY  OF  THE  STRONG:  Special  cast— Good 
drama,  but  the  paper,  with  the  exception  of  the 
11  x  14's,  was  rotten.  Columbia  prints  are  uniformly 
good,  and  pictures  are  usually  O.  K.,  but  they  don't 
draw. — Dwight  Grist,  Theatorium  theatre,  Columbia 
Falls,  Mont. — General  patronage. 

THE  SCARLET  LADY:  Special  cast— No- 
vember 27-28-29.  A  very  good  picture,  pleased 
everyone.  Our  hats  off  to  Columbia.  A  lot 
of  their  pictures  are  very  good  and  you  don't 
have  to  put  a  mortgage  on  anything  to  buy 
them  either.  Seven  reels.— W.  L.  Hill,  Or- 
pheum  theatre,  Rock  Valley,  la. — Small  town 
patronage. 

FBO 

CHARGE  OF  THE  GAUCHOS:  Francis  X.  Bush- 
man— Very  pleasing  picture  and  one  of  the  best 
prints  we  have  run  for  some  time.  Eight  reels. — 
B.  E.  Fahrney,  Electric  theatre,  Curtis,  Neb. — Small 
town  patronage. 

SINGAPORE  MUTINY:  Ralph  Ince— 65%.  De- 
cember 12.  A  little  rough  in  spots,  but  fans  seem 
to  like  it.  Six  reels. — E.  B.  Conant,  Charkarohen- 
Hall,  Lincoln,  N.  H. — Small  town  patronage. 

SON  OF  THE  GOLDEN  WEST:  Tom  Mix— Con- 
sidered one  of  Mix's  best.  Tom  always  takes  well 
here.  Fairly  good  attendance,  considering  bad  weather 
and  flu  epidemic  raging.  Seven  reels. — B.  E.  Fahr- 
ney, Electric  theatre,  Curtis,  Neb. — Small  town  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  PERFECT  CRIME:  Special  cast— 35%.  De- 
cember 14-15.  Touted  and  bought  as  a  special.  Only 
a  mediocre  program  picture.  Film  dark.  Glad  I 
didn't  raise  admission.  As  a  whole  it  didn't  satisfy. 
Queer  ending  that  didn't  quite  let  my  patrons  know 
what  it  was  all  about.  Seven  reels. — E.  C.  Arehart, 
Auditorium  theatre,  Laurel,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

DANGER  STREET:  Warner  Baxter— December  18- 
19.  A  good  underworld  picture.  Will  they  ever 
stop  making  underworld  pictures?  There  are  too 
many  of  this  type  of  picture.  Do  not  draw  here. 
Six  reels. — W.  L.  Hill,  Orpheum  theatre,  Rock  Valley, 
la. — Small  town  patronage. 

SINNERS  IN  LOVE:  Olive  Borden— 51%.  Decem- 
ber 13.  I  was  extremely  bored  all  through  this  pic- 
ture and  so  were  our  patrons,  if  I  am  any  judge.  I've 
never  read  True  Story  Magazine  but  if  it  is  no 
better  than  this  picture  based  on  one  of  its  stories, 
I  haven't  missed  anything.  Six  reels. — H.  B.  Grice, 
Aiken  Mills  theatre,  Bath,  S.  C— Small  town  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  HIT  OF  THE  SHOW:  Joe  Brown— 65%. 
December  15.  A  good  6how,  although  ending  was 
disappointing.  Six  reels. — E.  B.  Conant,  Charkarohen- 
Hall,  Lincoln,  N.  H. — Small  town  patronage. 

TERROR  MOUNTAIN:  Special  cast^50%.  De- 
cember 15.  This  is  a  good  entertaining  picture. 
Pleased  my  Saturday  crowd. — Bert  Silver,  Silver 
Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich. — General  patronage. 

DOG  LAW:  Ranger — 41%.  December  6.  Oh — 
My  Gosh !  We  just  did  break  even  on  this  one. 
Pretty  g<- -'  oicture,  too.  Looks  like  "Racing  Blood" 
good  pi 


Copyright,  1929 


THE  CHANCES  ARE— 

'T,HAT  1929  will  be  Better. 

Hopefulness,  of  course,  is  such  a 
human  trait  that  it  is  often  based  on 
inaccurate  judgment. 

But  it  seems  to  us  that  to  expect  in 
1929  a  settlement  of  many  of  the  prob- 
lems which  have  worried  the  average  ex- 
hibitor during  1928,  is  not  responding  to 
mere  hopefulness. 

For  one  thing,  1928  brought  a  sudden 
change  in  the  film  business — synchroniza- 
tion. The  more  mighty  exhibitors  have 
been  able  to  meet  this  change  at  least 
satisfactorily,  for  they  have  been  able  to 
install  the  necessary  equipment. 
*    •  » 

But  even  now  there  are  signs  that  this 
equipment  will  soon  become  available  to 
the  average  exhibitor.  Naturally,  pro- 
ducers want  it  to  be,  so  that  their  market 
may  be  larger.  It  is  therefore  only  logi- 
cal to  expect  that  they  will  find  a  way  to 
enlarge  their  market  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  since  it  took  comparatively  a  few 
months  for  sound  to  grow  to  its  present 
proportions,  a  similar  time,  it  may  be 
reasoned,  should  allow  it  to  grow  within 
the  reach  of  everyone. 

Then,  too,  in  1928  there  were  a  number 
of  sections  of  the  country  where  local 
economic  conditions  were  poor.  Unem- 
ployment was  a  problem  rather  generally, 
while  the  coal  fields,  Eastern  textile  dis- 
tricts, the  central  Middlewestern  farming 
sections  and  the  Mississippi  flood  area, 
furnished  special  examples  of  economic 
depression.  Add  to  these  whatever  you 
may  think  of  the  economic  influence  of  a 
Presidential  campaign  and  you  will  get 
indisputable  data  in  favor  of  hopefulness 
for  1929,  since  most  of  these  conditions 
have  been  or  are  on  the  way  to  being 
cleared  up. 

*    *  * 

There  is  also  the  belief  that  the  public 
has  been  "getting  away  from  picture 
shows."  Perhaps.  The  public  does  things 
like  that  in  almost  every  field.  But  the 
screen  has  something  vital  to  offer — the 
eternal  story,  told  in  the  best  way  man 
has  yet  found  to  tell  a  story.  Motion  pic- 
tures are  no  fad.  So  the  public,  if  it  ivent, 
will  be  back — yes,  it  should  be  sometime 
in  1929. 

—GEORGE  SCHUTZ. 


shown  in  connection  with  these  feature  pictures  from 
FBO  are  not  pulling.  Alberta  Vaughan  and  Al 
Cooke  used  to  pull  them  in,  but  not  now,  it  seems. 
Six  reels. — H.  B.  Grice,  Aiken  Mills  theatre,  Bath, 
S.  C. — Small  town  patronage. 

First  National 

SCARLET  SEAS:  Richard  Barthelmess — 60%. 
December  21-22.  Here  is  a  real  rough  one  with 
action  and  thrills.  It  is  good,  but  not  "The  Noose." 
Seven  reels. — W.  >.'.  Biggs,  Adair  theatre,  Adair,  la. 
— General  patronace. 


THE  HAUNTED  HOUSE:  Special  cast—  O.  K. 
Lots  of  laughs  and  scary  scenes.  Liked  it  here — 
fair  business. — Charles  H.  Richelieu,  Richelieu  the- 
atre, Bellefonte  and  Clearfield,  Pa. — General  patron- 
age. 

THE  WRIGHT  IDEA:  Johnny  Hines—  December 
18-19.  Nothing  to  this.  Story  not  much.  Seven 
reels. — C.  A.  Swiercinsky,  Majestic  theatre,  Washing- 
ton, Kan. — General  patronage. 

OUT  OF  THE  RUINS:  Richard  Barthelmess— 
Drags — too  6low.  Women  may  like  it.  Fan  business. 
Charles  H.  Richelieu,  Richelieu  theatre,  Bellefonte 
and  Clearfield,  Pa. — General  patronage. 

LILAC  TIME:  Colleen  Moore — As  good  a  picture 
as  anyone  could  ask  for,  with  Colleen  Moore  at  her 
best.  The  air  raid  in  this  picture  is  the  best  that 
I  have  ever  seen.  A  real  picture  from  the  fir6t 
scene  to  the  final  fade-out.  The  picture  was  over- 
sold and  practically  only  grossed  film  rental.  But 
not  the  fault  of  the  picture.  Eleven  reels. — M.  F. 
Bodwell,  Paramount  theatre,  Wyoming,  111. — General 
patronage. 

LILAC  TIME:  Colleen  Moore— 50%.  November 
17-18.  Good  picture  but  too  much  like  "Wings"  to 
follow  after.  Don't  be  afraid  to  step  on  it,  it  is 
worth  while.  Twelve  reels. — B.  S.  McCaskill,  Ace 
theatre.  Lake  Providence,  La. — Small  town  patronage. 

WATER  FRONT:    Mackaill-Mulhall— December  16. 

Quite  satisfactory  comedy-drama.  Seven  reels.- — C.  A. 
Swiercinsky,  Majestic  theatre,  Washington,  Kan. — 
General  patronage. 

THE  WARE  CASE:  Special  cast— Foreign  picture, 
made  in  England.  Be  sure  you  advertise  it  as  such. 
Not  a  bad  picture. — Charles  H.  Richelieu,  Richelieu 
theatre,  Bellefonte  and  Clearfield,  Pa. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

DO  YOUR  DUTY:  Charlie  Murray— Now  then, 
when  we  get  ready  to  show  burlesque  to  the  family 
trade,  then  we  will  be  ready  for  such  pictures  as 
this.  Until  then,  this  sort  of  rot  is  out.  Anyone 
with  any  intelligence  will  kick  themselves  for  sitting 
through  this  gosh  darn  thing. — W.  H.  Brenner,  Cozy 
theatre,  Winchester,  Ind. — General  patronage. 

THE  PRIVATE  LIFE  OF  HELEN  OF  TROY: 
Special  cast — December  5.  This  was  a  total  loss. 
Grossed  $5.50  the  second  night.  Pass  it  up,  it's  a 
lemon. — Frank  Sabin,  Majestic  theatre.  Eureka,  Mont. 
— Small  town  patronage. 

THE  LOVE  MART:  Billie  Dove— O.  K.  after  first 
two  reels — slow  start,  then  good.  Fan  business. — 
Charles  H.  Richelieu,  Richelieu  theatre,  Bellefonte 
and  Clearfield,  Pa. — General  patronage. 

HOMEMADE:  Johnny  Hines — December  4-5.  Good 
program  picture,  but  I  can't  get  anybody  to  come 
and  see  this  guy.  Seven  reels. — William  E.  Tragsdorf, 
Trags  theatre,  Neillsville,  Wis.— Small  town  patron- 
age. 

THE  WHIP:  Special  cast — Not  as  good  as  the  old 
release,  just  fair.  May  get  by  as  a  program.— A. 
Mitchell,  Dixie  theatre,  Russellville,  Ky. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

LOST  AT  THE  FRONT:  Charles  Murray — A  very 
good  comedy  of  the  "Cohens  and  Kellys"  type  with 
George  Sidney  and  Charlie  Murray  at  their  best. 
Ran  this  on  my  10-cent  bargain  night  to  a  fs;r 
sized  crowd.  Pleased  all  who  came. — M.  F.  Bodwell, 
Paramount  theatre,  Wyoming,  111. — General  patronage. 

THE  STRANGE  CASE  OF  CAPTAIN  RAMPER: 
Special  cast — December  9.  Foreign  picture  with  an 
unusual  theme.  Not  a  particularly  interesting  title 
and  did  not  draw  so  good  but  pleased  those  who 
came.  We  hope  First  National  buys  the  rest  of  its 
stories  in  America. — Carl  W.  Veseth,  Palace  theatre, 
Malta,  Mont. — General  patronage. 

PRINCE  OF  HEAD  WAITERS:  Lewis  Stone- 
December  16-17.  A  very  fine  picture.  Photography 
clear  as  a  bell,  settings  high  class,  cast  and  story 
good.  Stone  is  a  finished  actor.  Seven  reels. — Wil- 
liam E.  Tragsdorf,  Trags  theatre,  Neillsville,  Wis.— 
Small  town  patronage. 


/ 


60 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


J.  C.  Jenkins — His  Colyum 


MUNCIE,  IND.,  December  24th,  1928. 

DEAR  HERALD- WORLD: 

This  being  the  day  before  Christmas,  and  being  900  miles  from  home,  would  make  a  sorry 
outlook  for  a  joyous  holiday  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  we  are  visiting  a  cousin  who  in- 
sisted on  us  spending  Christmas  with  them,  and  the  indications  are  that  we  are  going  to  have 
an  enjoyable  time.  We  don't  know  how  Marie  will  enjoy  the  day,  for  she  has  one  blowout 
and  a  flat  tire,  but  she  is  in  a  warm  garage  and  that  ought  to  help  some. 

We  are  in  receipt  of  Christmas  greetings  from  the  office  in  the  shape  of  a  card  about 
twelve  by  sixteen  inches  with  our  picture  at  the  top  and  surrounding  it  is  a  row  of  gazabos 
looking  at  us. 

We  are  unable  to  make  out  whether  these  ginks  are  a  bunch  of  exhibitors  or  the  office 
force,  as  they  are  not  labeled,  and  the  expressions  on  their  faces  would  indicate  that  they 
are  undecided  as  to  whether  we  are  a  horsethief  or  just  a  plain  nut.  One  of  these  pelicans 
looks  like  Tragsdorf  and  another  one  resembles  Eagle  Eye  Joe.  We  will  have  to  compliment 
the  artist,  whoever  he  is,  on  his  ability  to  draw  freaks.  The  cartoon  impresses  us  as  being 
the  handiwork  of  Bill  Weaver  (who  keeps  his  cellar  locked),  and  if  he  is  the  guilty  party, 
we  would  say  that  he  has  missed  his  calling — he  should  be  drawing  comic  strips. 

This  card  contains  Christinas  greetings  and  is  signed  by  every  member  of  the  office  force 
from  Eagle  Eye  Joe  to  Martin  J.  Quigley,  and  it  brings  to  us  more  real  joy  than  anything 
else  they  could  have  done,  for  it  assures  us  that  we  are  still  remembered,  and  remembrance 
by  such  friends  as  those  is  beyond  purchase  by  all  the  money  in  the  world,  for  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  friends  cannot  be  bought,  and  we  bow  our  head  in  reverence  and  say  "Thank 
God  for  friends." 

*    *  » 

We  have  seen  more  tombstones  around  theatres  the  past  week  than  we  have  ever  seen 
before.  Business  has  been  terrible.  We  have  not  found  a  single  theatre  in  all  our  travels, 
outside  of  those  in  the  larger  cities  having  sound  devices  that  has  anywhere  near  paid  film 
expenses.  This  is  natural,  of  course,  before  Christmas,  but  this  past  week  has  been  worse 
than  anything  we  have  ever  encountered  before. 

Our  observations  have  been  that  theatres  in  the  smaller  towns  located  within  reasonable 
driving  distance  of  cities  having  sound  equipment  are  up  against  a  hard  proposition,  and  we 
can't  get  away  from  the  conclusion  that  unless  this  equipment  is  placed  within  reach  of 
these  smaller  theatres,  many  of  them  will  be  forced  to  close.  We  have  found  many  already 
closed,  and  more  are  seriously  considering  closing.  This  may  be  a  pessimistic  view,  but  we 
are  reporting  conditions  just  as  they  exist. 

When  thousands  of  the  smaller  theatres  are  forced  out  of  business  and  the  outlet  for 
product  is  confined  to  the  city  theatres,  we  are  wondering  what  effect  this  will  have  on  the 
industry.  The  government  is  continually  trying  to  open  up  additional  markets  for  most  of 
our  manufactured  products  and  farm  produce,  but  the  film  producers  seem  to  be  trying  to 
curtail  the  market  and  confine  the  buying  of  their  goods  to  a  few  of  the  larger  centers.  In 
other  lines  of  endeavor  it  is  considered  that  the  larger  the  market  the  better  the  business, 
but  in  the  film  industry  the  reverse  seems  to  be  the  rule. 

We  called  on  a  couple  of  theatremen  recently  in  a  town  of  6.000,  both  of  whom  claimed 
that  they  had  not  been  able  to  make  film  expenses  for  the  past  six  months,  and  they  both 
were  considering  closing  unless  conditions  changed  very  soon.  This  has  been  the  condition 
in  a  number  of  other  towns.  Just  how  to  account  for  this  is  what  is  puzzling  these  men. 
Our  theory  is  that  there  is,  and  has  been  for  some  time,  a  general  letting  down  of  the 

{Continued  on  next  page) 


Fox 

FAZIL:  Special  cast— 40%.  December  23-24.  Some 
didn't  like  it.  Most  of  them  did.  Only  fair  box 
office  attraction.  We  paid  too  much. — Paul  E.  Ander- 
son, Liberty  theatre,  Kalispell,  Mont. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

BLINDFOLDED:  George  O'Brien— Good  picture 
of  its  kind,  but  it  is  another  gangster  picture  of 
which  we  have  too  many.  They're  no  good  for 
American  youth.  Business  bad.  Seven  reels. — E.  E. 
Gailey.  Crystal  theatre,  Wayne,  Neb. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  RED  DANCE:    Dolores  Del  Rio— 35%. 
December  16-17-18.    Good  picture,  Dolores  Del 
Rio  is  very  good,  as  is  Charles  Farrell.  Why 
did  the  Fox  officials  use  a  Ford  Whirlwind 
monoplane  in  picturing  the  Russian  revolution? 
Ten  reels. — Paul  E.  Anderson,  Liberty  theatre, 
Kalispell,  Mont, — General  patronage. 
ME,  GANGSTER:    Special  cast— Just  a  fair  offer- 
ing.— A.  Mitchell,  Dixie  theatre,  Kussellville,  Ky. — 
General  patronage. 

ROMANCE  OF  THE  UNDERWORLD:  Special 
cast — November  24.  Fair  box  office  attraction.  Good 
picture,  well  received. — Paul  E.  Anderson,  Liberty 
theatre,    Kalispell,    Mont. — General  patronage. 

DRY  MARTINI:  Special  cast— They  will  walk 
out  on  this  one,  it's  rotten.  Have  not  had  one  good 
Bhow  from  Fox  this  season. — A.  Mitchell,  Dixie  the- 
atre, Russellville,  Ky. — General  patronage. 

HELLO,  CHEYENNE:  Tom  Mix— Poorest  Mix  to 
date.  Tom  is  sure  slipping  fast.  Same  old  hokum. — 
Paul  E.  Anderson,  Liberty  theatre,  Kalispell,  Mont. — 
General  patronage. 

STREET  ANGEL:  Farrell-Gaynor — A  few  liked 
it,  but  the  majority  said  "Rotten,"  and  that  is  what 
I  said  "rotten."    May  suit  over  there  but  not  over 


here. — A.  Mitchell,  Dixie  theatre,  Russellville,  Ky. — 
General  patronage. 

DAREDEVIL'S  REWARD:  Tom  Mix— A  fairly 
good  Mix  picture.  Business  way  below  normal.  Los- 
ing drawing  power  here. — M.  F.  Bodwell,  Paramount 
theatre,  Wyoming,  111. — General  patronage. 

AS  GOOD  AS  GOLD:     Buck  Jones — December  8. 

Packed  'em  in  on  this  one.  Jones  is  a  box  office 
magnet  here  and  he  always  kicks  through  with  a 
good  action  picture  for  the  action  fans. — Carl  W. 
Veseth,  Palace  theatre,  Malta,  Mont. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

PAINTED  POST:  Tom  Mix — Just  a  good  average 
Western.  Have  had  lots  better  pictures  with  this 
star  than  this  one.  Pleased  the  U6ual  amount  of 
Mix  fans.  Five  reels. — M.  F.  Bodwell,  Paramount 
theatre,  Wyoming,  111. — General  patronage. 

THE  WIZARD:  Special  cast— 20%.  Decem- 
ber 14.  A  spooky  picture  that  satisfied  those 
that  were  not  scared. — Bert  Silver,  Silver 
Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

A  HIGH  SCHOOL  HERO:  Special  cast— December 
8.  Fine  feature — lots  of  laughs  and  a  swell  basket- 
ball game. — Frank  Sabin,  Majestic  theatre.  Eureka. 
Mont. — Small  town  patronage. 

THE  COWBOY  KID:  Rex  Bell — People  seemed 
to  like  this.  Five  reels. — Elmer  E.  Vosburgh,  Tivoli 
theatre,  Mishawaka,  Ind. — General  patronage. 

Gotham 

THE  RIVER  WOMAN:  Jacqueline  Logan — Good 
program  picture  of  the  Mississippi  waterfront  but  it 
hasn't  much  of  a  theme.  Seven  reels. — Edward  Zorn, 
Zorn  theatre,   Binkelman,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

UNITED    STATES    SMITH:     Si-ecial    cast — Good 


picture,  good  print,  and  the  paper  was  attractive. — 
Dwight  Grist,  Theatorium  theatre,  Columbia  Falls, 
Mont. — General  patronage. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 

WEST  OF  ZANZIBAR:  Lon  Chaney— 60%.  De- 
cember 18-19.  This  is  a  show  that  is  extra  good. 
Some  of  the  ladies  did  not  think  so,  as  it  was  too 
gruesome.  Fine  acting  by  Chaney.  Seven  reels. — 
W.  T.  Biggs,  Adair  theatre,  Adair,  la. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

WHITE  SHADOWS  IN  THE  SOUTH  SEAS:  Monte 
Blue — 81%.  December  IL  Very  interesting  and  held 
audience  in  nice  shape.  Those  not  liking  this  class 
of  picture  advised  they  had  no  complaint  to  make, 
as  acting  pleased  them  so  well.  Made  good  enter- 
tainment.— Newman  &  Gordy,  Ne-Go  theatre,  Toronto, 
Kan. — General  patronage. 

NAPOLEON:  Special  cast— 42%.  Decem- 
ber 16.  A  Gaumont  production  to  stay  away 
from.  A  life  history  of  Napoleon  with  a  lot 
of  battle  scenes,  riots,  insurrections,  and  what- 
not, done  in  the  usual  "old-country"  style* 
Doubtless  a  great  subject  and  is  probably  con- 
sidered a  great  production  somewhere,  but  we 
can't  see  it.  Much  of  it  rather  confusing,  and 
little  of  it  to  sustain  the  interest  of  a  general 
audience.  Good  print  and  some  fine  photog- 
raphy. Eight  reels. — Wolfe  &  Williams,  Screen- 
land  theatre,  Nevada,  O. — Small  town  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  BABY  CYCLONE:  Cody-Pringle— This  is  a 
funny  joke.  Story  in  which  the  woman'  likes  the 
dog  better  than  her  husband.  Did  not  please.  It's 
silly. — C.  A.  Swiercinsky,  Majestic  theatre,  Wash- 
ington, Kan. — General  patronage. 

FOUR  WALLS:  Special  cast— 50%.  December  12- 
13.  A  mighty  good  picture.  Gave  good  satisfaction. 
Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich. — 
General  patronage. 

WHILE  THE  CITY  SLEEPS:  Lon  Chaney— Very 
good  picture  that  pulled  and  pleased.  Lon  Chaney 
looked  like  himself  and  it  seems  good  to  see  him 
that  way.  Not  extra  for  Sunday  in  the  small  towns. 
Too  much  gun  play.  Nine  short  reels. — E.  E.  Gailey, 
Crystal  theatre,  Wayne,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

DETECTIVES:  Dane-Arthur— November  30-Decem- 
ber  1.  A  fair  Saturday  night  picture.  A  few  gags 
that  were  not  exactly  spotless.  Too  much  smut. 
Six  reels.— W.  L.  Hill,  Orpheum  theatre.  Rock  Valley, 
la. — Small  town  patronage. 

OUR  DANCING  DAUGHTERS:  Joan  Crawford- 
One  of  the  best  pictures  of  the  year.  Business  very 
poor.  Weather  bad,  but  it  pleased  100  per  cent  for 
those  that  did  venture  out.  Nine  reels. — M.  F.  Bod- 
well, Paramount  theatre,  Wyoming,  111. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  CARDBOARD  LOVER:  Marion  Davies— A 
very  good  program  picture,  pleased  everyone.  Box 
office  returns  good.  Eight  reels. — W.  L.  Hill,  Or- 
pheum theatre.  Rock  Valley,  la. — Small  town  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  CARDBOARD  LOVER:  Marion  Davies 
— 89%.     November  27.     Dandy  good  picture. 
Good  characters.   If  you  want  to  please  your 
patrons,  just  buy  this  one — and  will  say  that 
we  bought  it  right.    Therefore  we  were  pleased 
as  well  as  our  patrons.    Eight  reels. — Newman 
&  Gordy,  Ne-Go  theatre,  Toronto,  Kan. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 
BEAU  BROADWAY:     Cody-Pringle— A  fair  pro- 
gram picture.    Pleased  very  well.    Ran  this  on  my 
10-cent  bargain  night.    Seven  reels. — M.  F.  Bodwell, 
Paramount  theatre,  Wyoming,  111.— General  patronage. 

MLLE.  FROM  ARMENTIERS :  Special  cast— A 
good  light  war  comedy.  We  expected  a  lemon  and 
it  wasn't  bad  at  all. — J.  L.  Seiter,  Selma  theatre, 
Selma,  Cal. — General  patronage. 

THE  SMART  SET:  William  Haines — As  good  as 
any  of  Haines'.  Poor  business,  but  not  the  picture's 
fault.  Six  reels. — B.  E.  Fahrney,  Electric  theatre, 
Curtis,  Neb. — Small  town  patronage. 

QUALITY  STREET:  Marion  Davies— This  picture 
reminds  me  of  some  little  child  playing  Miss,  Mrs, 
and  Mr.  So  and  So  and  making  mud  cakes  for 
amusement. — Walter  Odom,  Sr.,  Dixie  theatre,  Durant, 
Miss. — General  patronage. 

THE  THIRTEENTH  HOUR:  Lionel  Barry  more — 
December  6;  A  fair  program  picture. — Carl  W. 
Veseth,  Palace  theatre,  Malta,  Mont. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  CAMERAMAN:  Buster  Keaton— 30%.  De- 
cember 12-13.  Keaton's  best  picture.  If  he  pulls 
them  in  for  you,  get  behind  it,  as  it  will  satisfy. 
But  he  means  nothing  here  at  the  gate.  Seven  reels. 
— E.  C.  Arehart,  Auditorium  theatre,  Laurel,  Neb. — 
General  patronage. 

THE  CAMERAMAN:  Buster  Keaton — Good  comedy, 
but  Keaton  will  not  get  them  in  for  us. — Charles  H. 
Richelieu,  Richelieu  theatre,  Bellefontr  n?»J  Clearfield, 
Pa. — General  patronage. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


61 


Paramount 


MANHATTAN  COCKTAIL:  Special  cast— Decem- 
ber 4.  An  old  theme  but  it  went  over  big  in  its 
new  dress.  There  are  many  scenes  in  this  silent 
version  that  are  mere  excess  baggage  but  which  no 
doubt  enchance  the  sound  version  a  great  deal.  I 
would  class  this  as  A-No.  1.  up-to-date  entertainment. 
Eight  reels. — A.  J.  Sass,  Star  theatre.  Willow  Springs, 
Mo. — Small  town  patronage. 

THE  WOMAN*  FROM  MOSCOW :  Pola  Negri 
— December  5.  This  picture  drew  a  fair  crowd. 
Patrons  made  the  comment  that  picture  was 
fair,  and  the  music  (Russian  music  on  Photo- 
tone)  was  wonderful.  Even  at  that,  had  quite 
a  few  walkouts. — Carl  W.  Veseth,  Palace  the- 
atre, Malta,  Mont. — General  patronage. 

VARSITY:  Buddy  Rogers— November  13.  This 
is  good  entertainment,  and  Conklin  is  the  whole 
show.  Better  than  the  average  picture.  Eight  reels. 
— A.  J.  Sass,  Star  theatre.  Willow  Springs,  Mo. — 
Small  town  patronage. 

THE  FLEET'S  IN:  Clara  Bow— 50%.  December 
11-12.  A  picture  up  to  Clara  Bow's  standard.  Hope 
she  will  make  some  more  as  good.  Seven  reels. — B.  S. 
HcCaskill,  Ace  theatre.  Lake  Providence,  La. — Small 
town  patronage. 

THE  FLEET'S  IN:  Clara  Bow— December  8.  This 
is  great.  Drew  a  big  house  on  a  stormy  night. 
If  this  small  town  is  any  criterion,  exhibitors  will 
make  plenty  of  money  on  this  picture.  The  Bow 
fans  will  eat  this  up.  Eight  reels. — A.  J.  Sass,  Star 
theatre.  Willow  Springs,  Mo. — Small  town  patronage. 

THE  WEDDING  MARCH:  Erich  Von  Stroheim— 
Possibly  Erich  von  Stroheim  is  a  genius.  My  defi- 
nition of  a  genius:  "A  dreamer  of  dreams  who  is 
able  to  execute  those  dreams  lor  the  benefit  of  his 
fellow  men."  Can  you  imagine  a  sweet  dream  like 
this  picture?  To  me  it  would  be  a  horrible  night- 
mare. At  the  box  office  it  proved  a  scarecrow. — 
O.  F.  Glass,  McCook  Amusement  Company.  McCook. 
Neb.- — General  patronage. 

BEGGARS  OF  LIFE :  Wallace  Beery— Something 
unusual  from  Beery.  Patrons  were  expecting  some- 
thing comical,  but  is  a  fair  picture.  Print  far  too 
dark.  Eight  reels. — Edward  Zorn,  Zorn  theatre,  Bin- 
kelman.  Neb. — General  patronage. 

BEGGARS  OF  LIFE:  Wallace  Beery — »0%.  No- 
vember 22.  Best  thing  Beery  has  done  yet.  A  real 
picture. — B.  S.  McCaskill,  Ace  theatre.  Lake  Provi- 
dence, La. — Small  town  patronage. 

BEGGARS  OF  LIFE :  Wallace  Beery— October  9 
This  is  just  a  fair  program  picture.  Takes  up  too 
much  time  getting  anywhere,  but  at  that  had  many 
favorable  comments.  It's  no  special.  Eight  reel6. — 
A.  J.  Sass,  Star  theatre.  Willow  Springs,  Mo. — Small 
town  patronage. 

BEGGARS  OF  LIFE :  Wallace  Beery— It  would  be 
unfair  to  give  a  percentage  on  this  picture,  especially 
in  this  season.  Every  one  liked  the  picture  and  ap- 
preciated Wallace  Beery  in  a  serious  part.  Seven 
reels. — Elmer  E.  Vosburgh.  Tivoli  theatre,  Mishawaka, 
Ind. — General  patronage. 

DOCKS  OF  NEW  YORK:  George  Bancroft— Good 
Bancroft  picture  but  a  little  too  deep  for  some  to 
understand.  Not  a  Sunday  picture,  nor  one  for 
children.  But  adults  will  get  some  kick  out  of  it. 
Eight  reel6. — Edward  Zorn.  Zorn  theatre,  Binkelman, 
Neb. — General  patronage. 

MOHAN  OF  THE  MARINES:  Richard  Dix— A 
program  picture,  that's  all. — J.  L.  Seiter,  Selma  thea- 
tre, Selma,  Cal. — General  patronage. 

HOT  NEWS:  Bebe  Daniels— December  15.  This  is 
extra  good,  has  comedy,  thrills  and  lots  of  action.  If 
you  have  a  Daniels  following,  they  will  like  it.  Seven 
reels. — A.  J.  Sass.  Star  theatre.  Willow  Springs,  Mo. 
— Small  town  patronage. 

LOVES  OF  AN  ACTRESS:  Pola  Negri— 35%. 
December  15.  One  of  those  ancient  settings  that  they 
just  won't  come  out  to  see.  As  for  the  picture,  the 
acting  is  very  good.  Personally  I  like  the  acting  of 
Pola  Negri,  but  her  stories  have  been  such  that  6he 
is  no  drawing  card  with  the  majority  of  picture- 
goers.  Eight  reels.— Paul  B.  Hoffman.  Legion  thea- 
tre, Holyrood,  Kans. — Small  town  patronage. 

WARMING  UP:  Richard  Dix— November  27.  Our 
patrons  received  more  enjoyment  out  of  this  picture 
than  any  we  have  shown  in  a  long  time.  The  base- 
ball scenes  are  great  and  the  director  certainly  knew 
his  baseball,  as  the  fans  ate  it  up.  People  who 
never  saw  a  baseball  game  will  like  this  too.  Eight 
reels. — A.  J.  Sass.  Star  theatre,  Willow  Springs,  Mo. 
— Small  town  patronage. 

FORGOTTEN  FACES:  Clive  Brook— This  picture 
was  sold  to  us  for  a  special,  and  while  it  is  a  real 
good  show,  I  was  disappointed  somewhat  in  this  fa- 
vorite star  of  mine.  He  did  not  seem  to  demand 
the  power  and  respect  in  this  picture  that  he  usually 
does  in  all  other  plays  I  have  6een  him  in.  although 
his  expression  and  commanding  love  scenes  cannot 
help  but  please  his  audience.  And  I  tell  you  we 
surely  need  good  pictures  nowadays  to  draw  them 


J.  C.  Jenkins — His  Colyum 


{Continued  from  preceding  page) 

public's  interest  in  motion  pictures.  People  seem  to  be  indifferent;  they  seem  to  have  lost 
that  spirit  of  enthusiasm  that  was  at  one  time  manifest  throughout  the  entire  country. 
How  to  remedy  this  is  the  problem  that  confronts  the  industry  today. 

*  •  • 

We  doubt  if  good  pictures  can  be  made  and  sold  for  any  less  money  than  they  are  today. 
Good  pictures  do  not  seem  to  solve  the  problem,  although  it  is  a  great  help.  We  recently 
visited  a  theatre  that  had  just  finished  a  three-day  run  of  "THE  KING  OF  KINGS,"  and  the 
operator  told  us  that  he  lost  money  on  the  picture  each  day  he  ran  it. 

Exploitation  does  not  bring  the  answer.  We  have  seen  many  small  theatres  that  expended 
more  in  exploitation  than  they  took  in  at  the  box  office.  About  the  only  theatres  we  find 
in  the  smaller  towns  that  are  holding  their  own  are  those  that  can  play  Sundays,  and  a 
business  that  only  pays  one  day  of  the  week  and  loses  the  other  six  days  is  not  a  very 
paying  business,  and  those  that  cannot  play  Sundays  are  fast  going  out  of  the  business. 

Eastern  Indiana  seems  to  be  about  the  worst  off  with  respect  to  poor  business  of  any 
territory  we  have  visited  recently.  The  crop  condition  is  fairly  good,  the  factories  seem 
to  be  running  full  time  in  most  place:-,  and  general  business  conditions  do  not  seem  to  be 
so  bad,  and  yet  attendance  at  the  theatres  is  something  terrible,  so  one  must  look  for  the 
solution  somewhere  else.  We  can't  account  for  conditions.  The  small  theatres  are  playing 
as  good  pictures  as  are  played  in  the  larger  houses,  and  in  many  instances  are  playing 
them  ahead  of  the  city  theatres,  and  yet  the  attendance  is  gradually  falling  off.  If  someone 
will  point  out  a  remedy  he  will  make  the  greatest  Christmas  offering  he  could  possibly 
bestow. 

«    *  * 

Last  week  we  called  on  Bill  Brenner,  who  operates  the  Cozy  theatre  at  Winchester, 
Ind.,  and  we  did  not  know  that  he  was  the  son  of  Jink  Brenner,  whom  we  used  to  coon 
watermelons  with  back  in  1879  in  Newton  county,  Ind..  until  we  called  on  a  friend  at 
Bluffton  who  advised  us  of  this  fact.  We  hope  that  the  next  time  Bill  sees  his  dad  that 
he  will  inform  him  of  this  fact  and  will  give  him  our  kindest  regards,  and  we  wish  him 
to  say  also  that  we  still  maintain  that  there  was  many  a  missing  watermelon  laid  at  our 
door  for  which  we  were  not  responsible — we  always  took  ours  out  to  the  woodshed — and 
that  the  Christmas  spirit  impels  us  to  forgive  him  for  taking  our  girl  home  from  the  spelling 
school  that  night. 

*  •  • 

When  we  haven't  anything  of  importance  to  write  about,  as  is  the  case  today,  and  since 
we  are  supposed  to  fill  just  so  much  space,  we  feel  the  urge  to  break  into  poetry.  This, 
we  realize,  will  be  tough  on  the  reader,  hut  there  are  some  of  you  that  we  have  it  in  for 
and  we  know  of  no  better  way  to  get  even  with  you.  and  since  this  is  Christmas  and  even 
father  has  quit  work,  we  are  going  to  close  this  by  saying — 

Since  Christmas  comes  but  once  a  year 

Let  everyone  feel  gay: 
But  to  guzzle  whiskey,  wine  and  beer 

Is  not  the  proper  way — 
What  we  should  do  is  keep  in  mind 
That  Christ  brought  jov  to  all  mankind. 

J.  C.  JENKINS, 
The  HERALD-WORLD  man. 
P.  S.— The  HERALD-WORLD  covers  the  field  like  an  April  shower. 


out  to  see  our  shows.  They  have  got  so  much  amuse- 
ments at  home,  first  in  the  radios,  which  most  every 
family  has.  And  now  they  are  almost  perfect,  so 
simple  in  operation  that  they  can  get  any  kind  of  a 
program  they  want,  and  I  notice  the  daily  newspapers 
are  saying  that  the  radios  are  keeping  more  people 
from  shows  nowadays  than  anything  else.  So  we 
must  call  on  our  picture  producers  to  help  us.  We 
exhibitors  have  got  to  get  the  proper  amusements  at 
our  theatres  to  interest  our  audiences  and  make  our 
places  attractive.  We  cannot  go  down :  we  have 
too  much  invested  to  even  think  of  such  a  thing. 
Eight  reels. — Walter  Odom  &  Sons,  Dixie  theatre. 
Durant,  Miss. — General  patronage. 

THE  PATRIOT:  Emil  Jannings— Well  produced, 
acting  great,  but  a  fiop  at  the  box  office. — J.  L. 
Seiter.  Selma  theatre.  Selma,  Cal. — General  patronage. 

THE  PATRIOT:    Emil  Jannings— 20%.  December 

15-  16.  Good  picture  if  they  knew  whatell  it  was  all 
about,  while  a  few  liked  it.  Twelve  reels. — B.  S. 
McCaskill,  Ace  theatre.  Lake  Providence,  La. — Small 
town  patronage. 

THE  MATING  CALL:  Thomas  Meighan— Decem- 
ber 5-6.  Very  good  feature,  with  interesting  story 
and  good  photography.  Seven  reels. — Edward  Zorn, 
Zorn  theatre,   Binkelman,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

THE  MATING  CALL:  Thomas  Meighan— Decem- 
ber 1.  Good  pictu.-e.  Everyone  liked  it.  You  can 
count  on  Rex  Beach  -lories. — Paul  E.  Anderson,  Lib- 
erty theatre,  Kalispe  .  Mont. — General  patronage. 

TAKE  ME  HOME:    Bebe  Daniels— 35%.  December 

16-  17.  Just  a  fair  p;  gram  picture.  Bebe  slipping 
here  as  a  drawing  card.  Six  reels. — E.  C.  Arehart, 
Auditorium  theatre.  Laurel,  Neb. — General  patron- 
age. 

THE  WATER  HOLE:  Jack  Holt— November  12-13. 
Just  a  fair  program  jicture.     No  better  than  the 


average  Zane  Grey  picture.    Really  not  a  special,  but 

sold  as  one. — Edward  Zorn,  Zorn  theatre,  Binkelman, 

Neb. — General  patronage. 

THE  WATER  HOLE:    Jack  Holt— A  good  program 

picture.    Zane  Grey  story  ;  good  for  Saturdays. — J.  L. 

Seiter,  Selma  theatre,  Selma,  Cal. — General  patronage. 
WINGS:  Special  cast — Indeed  a  very  good  pic- 
ture and  did  real  business  on  it  in  a  snowstorm. 
Enjoyed  very  much  by  all — and  yet  they  all  say 
they  are  tired  of  war  pictures!  Fifteen  reels. — 
Edward  Zorn,  Zorn  theatre,  Binkelman,  Neb. — 
General  patronage. 

WINGS:  Special  cast — Great  picture  that  pulled 
fair,  but  too  long.  The  chickens  were  crowing  each 
morning  when  we  got  home.  Let's  kill  the  next  guy 
that  goes  over  ten  reels.  J-C.  use  your  hatchet.  Fif- 
teen reels. — E.  E.  Gailey,  Crystal  theatre,  Wayne,  Neb. 
— General  patronage. 

THE  LEGION  OF  THE  CONDEMNED:  Cooper- 
Wray — A  very  good  airplane  war  story.  Pleased. — 
J.  L.  Seiter,  Selma  theatre,  Selma,  Cal. — General 
patronage. 

MODELS  FROM  MONTMARTE :  Nita  Naldi— Just 
one  of  those  things  pushed  on  the  exhibitors  to  make 
life  more  miserable  for  both  his  patrons  and  himself. 
Six  reels. — Elmer  E.  Vosburgh,  Tivoli  theatre,  Misha- 
waka, Ind. — General  patronage. 

PARTNERS  IN  CRIME:  Beery-Hatton— A  better 
story,  so  they  were  given  a  chance  to  get  off  their 
old  stuff,  which  was  getting  to  be  a  bore.  This  one 
is  good.  Book  it :  it  will  please.  Seven  reels. — 
Arno  G.  Weigang,  Community  theatre,  Kenedy,  Tex. 
— Small  town  patronage. 

PARTNERS  IN  CRIME:  Beery-Hatton— 52%.  De- 
cember 17.  This  was  literally  a  "crying"  success. 
The  tear  bomb  scenes  at  the  close  of  this  picture  had 
our  patrons  laughing  until  they  cried  too.    This  is 


62 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


"They  Should  Know  by  Now  " 

To  the  Editor: 

Now  that  we  exhibitors  ( most  of  us)  have  written  up  for  the  HERALD-WORLD  what  the 
different  pictures  did  for  us — and  I  do  believe  every  exhibitor  told  his  story  with  honest 
convictions,  not  through  any  prejudice  whatever  to  any  producer — /  believe  every  theatre 
owner  who  has  written  his  views  about  pictures  had  in  his  heart  a  hope)  that  this  writeup 
would  have  some  weight  with  the  picture  producers  or  those  who  pass  on  all  pictures,  to 
make  them  better  and  more  American-like. 

We  all  know  there  are  lots  of  pictures  we  have  to  play  that  will  not  make  us  rental  be- 
cause the  names  of  the  pictures  in  the  first  place  have  no  meaning,  and  in  lots  of  them  what 
meaning  they  do  have,  there  are  foreign  characters,  Napoleon-style,  and  acting  and  lotsl  of 
other  fill-in  stuff  which  we  Americans  don't  like.  And  we  don't  care  to  study  their  meanings. 

Now  all  these  years  most  of  us  have  been  writing  our  views,  etc..  on  all  pictures  we  have 
played.  For  almost  twelve  years  I  have  been  writing  and  reading  these  writeups  and  it  does 
not  seem  that  we  have  helped  matters  much,  for  our  line  of  pictures  are  still  coming  to  us, 
day  by  day,  year  in  and  year  out,  in  the  same  old  way. 

Now,  I  think  it  is  time  for  tJie  producers  to  know  our  wants  and  to  know  what  group  of 
pictures  to  line  up  for  our  localities  and  let  them  instruct  their  booking  agencies  along  this 
line.  They  should  know  by  now  what  line  of  pictures  would  suit  best  us  small  town 
exhibitors. 

WALTER  ODOM,  SR., 
Dixie  Theatre,  Durant,  Miss. 


about  the  most  entertaining  picture  this  pair  has 
made.  Seven  reels. — H.  B.  Grice,  Aiken  Mills  theatre, 
Bath,  S.  C— Small  town  patronage. 

RED  HAIR:  Clara  Bow — A  real  good  picture,  but 
she  has  made  better  pictures  since,  60  it  didn't  show 
up  so  well. — Arno  G.  Weigang,  Community  theatre, 
Kenedy,  Tex. — Small  town  patronage. 

SAWDUST  PARADISE:  Esther  Ralston— We  played 
this  Saturday  night  with  a  two-reel  comedy,  "Bargain 
Hunt,"  to  a  very  small  crowd  on  account  of  bad 
weather  and  lots  of  bad  colds  raging  in  our  little  city 
and  all  around  us.  Both  the  picture  and  comedy  are 
exceptionally  good.  Six  reels. — Walter  Odom  &  Sons, 
Dixie  theatre,  Durant,  Miss. — General  patronage. 

OPEN  RANGE:  Special  cast— 40%.  December  15. 
Zane  Grey  Western,  very  good  picture,  print  good. 
Small  house  on  account  of  flu.  Six  reels. — H.  B. 
Osborn,  Community  theatre,  Mt.  Hope,  Kan.— Small 
town  patronage. 

NEVADA:  Gary-Cooper— December  15-16.  A  Zane 
Grey  picture.  Much  better  than  the  ordinary  run  of 
Westerns.  These  always  bring  the  business.  Seven 
reels. — C.  E.  Holt,  Legion  theatre,  Elmwood,  Wi6. — - 
Small  town  patronage. 

SOMETHING  ALWAYS  HAPPENS:  Esther  Ral- 
ston— 30%.  December  16.  A  snowstorm  cut  our  at- 
tendance, but  the  picture  more  than  pleased  those 
who  came  out.  It  is  a  real  picture,  with  comedy  and 
plenty  of  mystery.  If  they  don't  like  this  they  won't 
like  anything  you  can  give  them.  Five  reels. — Paul  B. 
Hoffman,  Legion  theatre,  Holyrood,  Kan. — Small  town 
patronage. 

SERVICE  FOR  LADIES:  Adolphe  Menjou— 38%. 
December  15.  Dandy  program  feature.  Best  we  have 
ever  seen  from  this  star.  Clean  and  interesting. 
Nice  clear  photography.  Fair  print.  Not  much  busi- 
ness, as  Menjou  has  no  following  with  us,  but  the 
picture  pleased  all  that  saw  it.  Seven  reels. — Wolfe 
&  Williams,  Screenland  theatre,  Nevada,  O. — Small 
town  patronage. 

SHANGHAI  BOUND:  Richard  Dix— 62%.  Decem- 
ber 10.  Suspense,  comedy,  fighting  on  a  Chinese 
river.  What  more  would  one  want  for  an  after- 
noon's entertainment?  An  excellent  picture.  Six 
reels.— H.  B.  Grice,  Aiken  Mills  theatre,  Bath,  S.  C. 
■ — Small  town  patronage. 

THE  ROUGH  RIDERS:  Special  cast— A  good  pic- 
ture. Will  do  well  with  most  any  audience.  It  was 
made  near  here  and  drew  especially  well  here.  Could 
have  been  made  in  a  few  less  reels.  Ten  reels.- — 
Arno  G.  Weigang,  Community  theatre,  Kenedy,  Tex. 
— Small  town  patronage. 

SPEEDY:  Harold  Lloyd— The  best  of  all  Lloyds. 
Will  please  any  kind  of  audience,  and  my  patrons  all 
liked  it.  Seven  reels. — Arno  G.  Weigang,  Community 
theatre,  Kenedy,  Tex. — Small  town  patronage. 

Pathe-P  D  C 

KING  OF  KINGS:  Special  cast— Very  good.  Mar- 
velously  produced.  In  my  opinion  a  far  better  pro- 
duction than  "Wings,"  yet  falling  far  below  it  at  the 
box  office.  A  picture  that  absolutely  no  one  should 
miss.  Played  December  12-13-14.  Twelve  reels. — 
Edward  Zorn,  Zorn  theatre,  Binkelman,  Neb. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

POWER:  William  Boyd — Good  picture,  with  plenty 
of  comedy-relief.  It  pleased  those  who  came  on  a 
nasty  day  just  before  Christmas.    Business  not  very 


good.  Seven  reels. — E.  E.  Gailey,  Crystal  theatre, 
Wayne,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

CHICAGO:  Special  cast — Personally  thought  it 
pretty  good,  but  they  don't  like  this  kind  of  stuff 
here.  Good  print. — Dwight  Grist,  Theatorium  theatre, 
Columbia  Falls,  Mont. — General  patronage. 

KING  OF  KINGS:    Special  cast— December  3. 
Below  zero  weather  caused  a  decided  loss  on  this 
wonderful  picture.    It  hasn't  the  appeal  of  "Ben 
Hur,"  but  it's  splendid.    I  would  like  to  rebook 
it  and  get  out  of  the  red.    Twelve  reels. — Frank 
Sabin,  Majestic  theatre,  Eureka,  Mont. 
THE   NIGHT  FLYER:     William   Boyd— December 
13-14.     If  you  are  living  in  a  railroad  town  this 
might  please.     Seven  reels. — William  E.  Tragsdorf, 
Trags  theatre,  Neillsville,  Wis. — Small  town  patron- 
age. 

FORBIDDEN  LOVE:  Lili  Damita— Did  not  draw. 
Theme  worn  out  and  we  were  not  crazy  over  it  our- 
selves, although  acting  was  fair,  but  lots  of  drawn- 
out  necking.  Mush  I  Seven  reels. — E.  E.  Gailey, 
Crystal  theatre,  Wayne,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

DESERT  OF  THE  LOST:  Wally  Wales— December 
15.  Good  little  Western  for  Saturday  night.  Five 
reels. — William  E.  Tragsdorf,  Trags  theatre,  Neills- 
ville, Wis. — Small  town  patronage. 

HOLD  'EM,  YALE:  Rod  La  Rbcque— This  is  a 
humdinger.  Some  of  the  people  that  saw  it  are  still 
laughing.  The  hero's  appearance  at  the  football  game 
at  the  last  moment  is  far-fetched,  but  the  rest  of  the 
story  is  so  good  they  overlook  this. — Dwight  Grist, 
Theatorium  theatre,  Columbia  Falls,  Mont. — General 
patronage. 

THE  BLUE  DANUBE:  Leatrice  Joy— 17%.  De- 
cember 13.  Basketball  and  snow  kept  people  away. 
However,  this  is  a  good  drama.  Seven  reels. — Mrs. 
Hulda  J.  Green,  Gem  theatre,  Greenriver,  Utah. — 
General  patronage. 

MAN  MADE  WOMAN :  Special  cast— Pathe  wasted 
a  lot  of  time  when  they  made  this.  Doesn't  compare 
with  some  of  the  star's  (Leatrice  Joy)  other  pictures. 
— Dwight  Grist,  Theatorium  theatre,  Columbia  Falls, 
Mont. — General  patronage. 

Rayart 

ON  THE  STROKE  OF  TWELVE:  David  Torrence 
— Picture  was  well  liked  and  bought  right.  Six  reels. 
— -Elmer  E.  Vosburgh,  Tivoli  theatre,  Mishawaka,  Ind. 
— General  patronage. 

United  Artists 

REVENGE:  Dolores  Del  Rio — Fair  picture.  No 
business.  Lacks  comedy  and  dressed-up  scenes. 
Pleases  men  who  like  outdoor  pictures. — Charles  H. 
Richelieu,  Richelieu  theatre,  Bellefonte  and  Clearfield, 
Pa. — General  patronage. 

RAMONA:  Dolores  Del  Rio — Really  the  only 
United  Artists  picture  I  ever  mad'  money  with.  And 
how  1  Music  should  not  be  ov<  .ooked,  as  it  helps 
immensely. — C.  A.  Swiercin6kj ,  Majestic  theatre, 
Washington,  Kan. — General   pat  -onage. 

RESURRECTION:  Special  <,'  st — A  very  good  pic- 
ture from  the  famous  novel. — J.  L.  Seiter,  Selma 
theatre,  Selma,  Cal. — General  patronage. 

MY  BEST  GIRL:  Mary  Pickford— December  3-4. 
Good  entertainment.    Not  as  jood  as  "Through  the 


Back  Door,"  which  I  played  more  than  seven  years 
ago.  Nine  reels. — William  E.  Tragsdorf,  Trags  thea- 
tre, Neillsville,  Wis. — Small  town  patronage. 

COLLEGE:  Buster  Keaton — Very  good  comedy 
from  Buster,  but  one  like  this  will  last  three  months 
for  comedy  entertainment.  Six  reels. — Edward  Zorn, 
Zorn  theatre,  Binkelman,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

TOPSY  AND  EVA:  Duncan  Sisters— December 
9-10.  Didn't  see  this  one,  but  from  the  many  good 
reports  I  had  on  it  I  would  say  they  liked  it.  Seven 
reels. — William  E.  Tragsdorf,  Trags  theatre,  Neills- 
ville, Wis. — Small  town  patronage. 

Universal 

ANYBODY  HERE  SEEN  KELLY:  Special  cast— 
25%.  December  18-19.  Fair  program  offering.  Bet- 
ter than  the  average  we  have  had  from  Universal  so 
far  this  season,  but  did  no  business  on  it.  Did  not 
quite  make  expenses,  due  to  cost  of  china  premiums. 
Not  much  action  until  the  last  reel  or  so,  and  not 
as  much  humor  as  we  expected.  Good  print  and 
average  Universal  photography.  Seven  reels. — Wolfe 
&  Williams,  Screenland  theatre,  Nevada,  O. — Small 
town  patronage. 

HOT  HEELS:  Glenn  Tryon— O.  K.  farce  comedy. 
Tryon  is  getting  better  with  every  picture  he  makes. 
— Dwight  Grist,  Theatorium  theatre,  Columbia  Falls, 
Mont. — General  patronage. 

UNCLE  TOM'S  CABIN:  Special  cast— November 
15-16-17.  A  100  per  cent  special,  with  unlimited 
drawing  power.  A  picture  that  pleased  everyone. 
Pictures  of  this  type  will  never  be  old.  Eleven  reels, 
— W.  L.  Hill,  Orpheum  theatre,  Rock  Valley,  la. — 
Small  town  patronage. 

UNCLE  TOM'S  CABIN:  This  department  ought 
to  be  called  "What  the  Picture  Did  to  Me"  when  you 
report  on  "Uncle  Tom."  Uncle  Carl  wants  a  half 
interest  in  your  left  eye  and  a  mortgage  on  your 
hope  of  heaven  before  he'll  sell  you  this.  My  folks 
have  been  "Uncle  Tommed"  to  death  by  traveling 
troupes  and  they  stayed  away  in  large  numbers.  The 
picture  is  good  entertainment,  but  my  folks  said  it 
deviated  from  the  story.  The  Tom  Mix  rescue  of 
Eliza  brought  a  laugh.  Eleven  reels. — Dwight  Grist, 
Theatorium  theatre,  Columbia  Falls,  Mont. — General 
patronage. 

UNCLE  TOM'S  CABIN:  Special  cast— 15%.  De- 
cember 5-6-7.  Poorest  business  of  any  special  in 
many  years.  Universal  got  more  than  we  took  in. 
Be  careful. — Paul  E.  Anderson,  Liberty  theatre,  Kali- 
spell,  Mont. — General  patronage. 

TENDERFOOT  HERO:  Bunk  I  Get  the  hook.— 
Wolfe  &  Williams,  Screenland  theatre,  Nevada,  O. — 
Small  town  patronage. 

DESERT  DUST:    Ted  Wells— 44%.    December  15. 

A  good  Western.  Drew  better  than  on  an  average 
Saturday.  Five  reels. — Mrs.  Hulda  J.  Green,  Gem 
theatre,  Greenriver,  Utah. — General  patronage. 

THE  FOREIGN  LEGION:  Special  cast—  50%.  De- 
cember 16-17.  This  is  a  splendid  entertainment. 
Fine  story.  Star  and  cast  extra  good.  Gave  good 
satisfaction. — Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre, 
Greenville,  Mich. — General  patronage. 

CLEARING  THE  TRAIL:  Hoot  Gibson— Just  an- 
other good  Hoot  Gibson  picture.  Hoot  plays  the  ten- 
derfoot part  for  awhile.  Six  reels. — Edward  Zorn, 
Zorn  theatre,   Binkelman,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

PRICE    OF    FEAR:      Bill    Cody— December  16. 

Double-billed  this  with  Metro's  "Napoleon,"  and  both 
of  them  together  didn't  make  a  good  program.  Suf- 
fered a  number  of  walk-outs  on  both  features  and 
took  a  lot  of  razzing.  This  is  better  than  the  last 
five-reel  thriller  we  had,  but  is  certainly  not  a  good 
Sunday  offering  under  any  conditions.  Small  picture 
of  the  underworld  variety.  Good  print  and  mostly 
fair  photography.  Five  reels. — Wolfe  &  Williams, 
Screenland  theatre,  Nevada,  O. — Small  town  patron- 
age. 

GUARDIANS  OF  THE  WILD:  Rex— Suitable  for 
Saturdays. — J.  L.  Seiter,  Selma  theatre,  Selma,  Cal. 

Warner  Bros. 

STATE  STREET  SADIE :  Special  cast— A  great 
gang  or  crime  picture,  and  it  is  one  of  the  best 
offered  this  year.  However,  I  would  say  Colum- 
bia's "Stool  Pigeon"  is  the  better  of  the  two. 
But  this  is  a  fast  moving  crime  picture,  with 
some  splendid  comedy  thrown  in  that  makes  it 
very,  very  good.  I  think  most  movie  patrons 
will  like  it. — W.  H.  Brenner,  Cozy  theatre,  Win- 
chester, Ind. — General  patronage. 

HUSBANDS  FOR  RENT:  Special  cast— Just  an- 
other lemon  like  five  out  of  every  six  the  Warner 
programs  are.  No  story.  No  directing.  Just  film. 
Six  reels. — Edward  Zorn,  Zorn  theatre,  Binkelman, 
Neb. — General  patronage. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


63 


"My  Favorite  Players"  Contest 

BALLOT:  for  voting  in  the  Herald-World's  1928-29  contest  to  determine  who  are  the  fa- 
vorite male  and  feminine  screen  players  of  exhibitors  and  the  members  of  their  immediate  fami- 
lies.  Choices  are  to  be  made  on  any  basis  the  voter  chooses. 

Voter's  Name  Above 

Chosen  Players'  Names  ,      

Feminine  Player           

Male  Player      ,      

Theatre  ,  Town  

MAIL  to  Exhibitors  Herald- World,  "My  Favorite  Players"  Contest,  407  So.  Dearborn,  Chicago,  111. 


PAY  AS  YOU  ENTER:  Special  cast— December  12. 
This  was  simply  awful.  I  ran  it  one  night  and  vol- 
untarily had  a  dark  house  the  second  night.  Why 
did  they  make  it?  Why  did  they  sell  it?  I'm  way 
ahead  in  prestige  through  closing  the  second  night. 
Six  reels. — Frank  Sabin,  Majestic  theatre.  Eureka, 
Mont. — Small  town  patronage. 

THE  SILVER  SLAVE:  Irene  Rich— Just  another 
lemon.  Irene  does  some  good  acting  for  other  com- 
panies, but  she's  a  flop  with  Warners.  Six  reels. — 
Edward  Zorn,  Zorn  theatre,  Binkelman,  Neb. — General 
patronage. 

State  Rights 

FREEDOM  OF  THE  PRESS:  Lewis  Stone— 50%. 
December  8.  Picture  pleased.  Six  reels. — E.  B.  Co- 
nant,  Charkarohen  Hall,  Lincoln,  N.  H. — Small  town 
patronage. 

Serials 

TARZAN  THE  MIGHTY:  (Universal)  Special  cast 
— Getting  better  all  the  time,  but  don't  see  the  people 
flocking  in.  Guess  they  are  all  too  poor  here.  Fif- 
teen chapters. — Wolfe  &  Williams,  Screenland  theatre. 
Nevada,  O. — Small  town  patronage. 

Short  Features 

COLUMBIA 

WINNIE'S  VACATION:  Pleased  everyone.— W.  L. 
Hill,  Orpheum  theatre.  Rock  Valley,  la. — Small  town 
patronage. 

EDUCATIONAL 

FANDANGO:  Lupino  Lane — Lupino  seems  to  get 
the  laughs.  This  is  what  we  classed  as  one  of  his 
best. — Newman  &  Gordy,  Ne-Go  theatre,  Toronto, 
Kan. 

GOODY  BIRDS:  Charlie  Bowers — This  is  a  ecream. 
More  new  stunts  in  this  than  any  comedy  we  have 
used  for  some  time. — C  E.  Holt,  Legion  theatre, 
Elmwood,  Wis. — Small  town  patronage. 

HIS  PRIVATE  LIFE :  Good.  Two  reels.— Elmer 
E.  Vosburgh.  Tivoli  theatre,  Mishawaka,  Ind. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

THE  LITTLE  RUBE:  Dorothy  Devore— A  comedy 
that's  different  and  it's  a  good  one. — C.  A.  Swiercin- 
sky.  Majestic  theatre,  Washington,  Kan. — General 
patronage. 

RED  HOT  BULLETS:  Beet  comedy  I  have  seen 
for  some  time.  Eddie  Quillan  gets  lots  of  laughs. 
He  is  well  liked  by  my  patrons  and  a  good  help  to 
the  box  office  also. — K.  Vaveris,  Grand  theatre. 
Mount  Pleasant.  Pa. — General  patronage. 

FBO 

FAMILY  MEAL  TICKET:  Toots  and  Casper  Se- 
ries— Absolutely  a  waste  of  celluloid.  Two  reels. — 
E.  C.  Arehart,  Auditorium  theatre.  Laurel,  Neb. — 
General  patronage. 

JESSIE  JAMES:  This  "Racing  Blood"  series  of 
comedies  is  good  and  pleases  everyone. — W.  L.  Hill, 
Orpheum  theatre,  Rock  Valley,  la. — Small  town  pat- 
ronage. 

MICKEY  COMEDIES:  These  comedies  sure  please 
the  kids,  and  the  grown-ups  don't  object  to  them. 
— E.  B.  Conant,  Charkarohen-Hall,  Lincoln,  N.  H. — 
Small  town  patronage. 

MICKEY'S  MOVIES:  Mickey  McGuire — A  good 
comedy  for  children. — W.  L.  Hill,  Orpheum  theatre. 
Rock  Valley,  la. — Small  town  patronage. 


FOX 

ELEPHANT'S  ELBOWS:  A  very  good  comedy.— 
C.  A.  Swiereinsky,  Majestic  theatre,  Washington,  Kan. 
— General  patronage. 

FOX  VARIETIES:  These  are  good  and  educa- 
tional.— S.  B.  Conant,  Charkarohen-Hall,  Lincoln,  N. 
H. — Small  town  patronage. 

METRO-GO  LDWYN-MAYER 

ALL  PARTS :  Charley  Chase— A  good  comedy  ;  the 
best  Chase  I  have  had. — W.  T.  Biggs,  Adair  theatre, 
Adair,  la. — General  patronage. 

EVERY  BUDDY  HAPPY:  A  good  furtny  comedy. 
—Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich. 
— General  patronage. 

THE  FAMILY  GROUP:  Nothing  to  this  one.  Two 
reels  of  celluloid  gone  blah. — W.  L.  Hill,  Orpheum 
theatre,  Rock  Valley,  la. — General  patronage. 

RAINY  DAYS:  A  very  good  comedy,  but  more 
for  children. — W.  L.  Hill,  Orpheum  theatre.  Rock 
Valley,  la. — Small  town  patronage. 

SHOULD  MARRIED  MEN  GO  HOME:  A  mud- 
throwing  comedy.  Funny. — Bert  Silver,  Silver  Fam- 
ily theatre,  Greenville,  Mich. — General  patronage. 

SOUP  TO  NUTS:  Laurel-Hardy — Just  good  enough 
that  it  put  the  whole  show  over.  Very  funny — C.  A. 
Swiereinsky,  Majestic  theatre,  Washington,  Kan. — 
General  patronage. 

WE  FAW  DOWN:  Laurel-Hardy — Very  good, 
pleased  all,  and  then  some.  Played  with  "While  the 
City  Sleeps." — E.  E.  Gailey,  Crystal  theatre,  Wayne, 
Neb. — General  patronage. 


Welcome 

Another  new  contributor  is  enrolled 
this  week — D.  D.  Carter  of  the  Kilmar- 
nock Theatre  Corporation,  operating  the 
Fairfax  theatre  in  Kilmarnock,  Va. 

"We  have  joined  the  army  of  reporters 
on  pictures,"  writes  Brother  Carter,  "and 
hope  to  do  a  bit  of  service  from  time  to 
time.  I  suppose  we  belong  to  the  General 
Patronage  class,  as  our  town  is  very  small 
and  most  of  our  patrons  come  from  the 
country  round  about." 

To  Carter  a  hearty  welcome  is  extended, 
and  it  goes  without  saying  that  all  exhibi- 
tors will  benefit  from  his  reported  experi- 
ences.   His  first  report  is  as  follows: 

UNITED     ARTISTS  Ramona:      Dolores  Del 

Rio.  100  per  cent.  Nov.  21-22.  All  the  good 
and  beautiful  things  other  exhibitors  have  said 
of  this  picture  ar«  true.  Packed  our  house  both 
nights  and  pleased  everyone.  Charming  beyond 
words. — The  General:  Buster  Keaton.  Dec.  14. 
Fair,  pleased  the  children  most.  Not  nearly  as 
good  as  "Steamboat  Bill  Jr.,"  yet  it  drew  well 
and  patrons  were  pleased. 

FIRST  NATIONAL  The  Wright  Idea  :  Johnny 

Hines.  Good  entertainment,  well  liked  by  those 
who  Baw  it.  Small  attendance  on  account  of 
heavy  snow. 

WARNER    BROTHERS  Old    San  Francisco: 

Dolores  Costellc  Dec.  12-13.  This  is  a  special, 
a  6ne  big  plc^.  that  was  well  liked.  This 
star  has  many  t  ^nds  here.  The  earthquake 
scenes  were  praised  by  many. 

FOX  Arizona  Wildcat:    Tom  Mix.    Djc.  15. 

A  good  picture  thai  went  over  well  with  our 
Saturday  night  crowd-  Nothing  rough  in  this 
one,  some  comedy.   M-.ny  said  it  was  fine. 


WE  FAW  DOWN:  Laurel-Hardy— If  this  one  does 
not  suit,  it  can't  be  done,  for  it  has  a  million  laughs. 
The  best  comedy  I  have  had  in  the  past  few  seasons. 
— W.  T.  Biggs,  Adair  theatre,  Adair,  la. — General 
patronage. 

PARAMOUNT 

BELIEVE  IT  OR  NOT:  Good  comedy,  chorus  girls 
and  everything. — E.  E.  Gailey,  Crystal  theatre,  Wayne, 
Neb. — General  patronage. 

FIGHTING  FANNY:  Jack  Duffy— Very  good.  Two 
reels. — Mrs.  Hulda  J.  Green,  Gem  theatre,  Green- 
river,  Utah. — General  patronage. 

HORSE  SHY:  Everett  Horton— Good;  lots  of 
laughs  for  the  patrons.  Two  reels. — Elmer  E.  Vos- 
burgh, Tivoli  theatre,  Mishawaka,  Ind. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

KOKO  THE  KOP :  Inkwell  Imps— Neat  little  filler. 
Good  print. — Wolfe  &  Williams,  Screenland  theatre, 
Nevada,  O. — Small  town  patronage. 

STOP  KIDDING:  Bobby  Vernon— This  is  a  good 
one. — Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre,  Greenville, 
Mich. — General  patronage, 

SWISS  MOVEMENTS:  Jimmy  Adams— My  first 
one  and  I  am  well  pleased.  A  good,  clean  two-reeler. 
— Arno  G.  Weigang,  Community  theatre,  Kenedy, 
Tex. — Small  town  patronage. 

PATHE 

THE  BICYCLE  FLIRT:  Good  comedy;  laughs 
aplenty. — Frank  Sabin,  Majestic  theatre,  Eureka, 
Mont. — Small  town  patronage. 

CAMPUS  CARMEN:  Here  is  a  peach  of  a  com- 
edy ;  out  of  the  ordinary.  Biggest  part  in  technicolor 
and  it  pleased  all.  Best  for  a  long  time. — E.  E. 
Gailey,  Crystal  theatre,  Wayne,  Neb. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

MODESTY  SHOP:  Fair  comedy.— Bert  Silver,  Sil- 
ver Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

A  ONE  MAMMA  MAN:  Charley  Chase— Another 
good  one  from  Charley  Chase.  Two  reels. — Mrs. 
Hulda  J.  Green,  Gem  theatre,  Greenriver,  Utah. — 
General  patronage. 

RUN,  GIRL,  RUN:  A  fair  comedy;  print  in  poor 
condition. — C.  E.  Holt,  Legion  theatre,  Elmwood,  Wis. 
— Small  town  patronage. 

SMITH'S  COUSIN:  Every  Smith  comedy  is  a 
winner. — Frank  Sabin,  Majestic  theatre,  Eureka, 
Mont. — Small  town  patronage. 

TAXI  SCANDAL:  Just  a  comedy,  that's  all. — 
E.  E.  Gailey,  Crystal  theatre,  Wayne,  Neb. — General 
patronage. 

UNIVERSAL 

THE  COLLEGIANS:  The  best  comedies  on  the 
market.  Sure  packs  them  in. — W.  L.  Hill,  Orpheum 
theatre,  Rock  Valley,  la. — General  patronage. 

OSWALD  THE  RABBIT:  All  of  these  rabbit  pic- 
tures are  good. — E.  B.  Conant,  Charkarohen-Hall, 
Lincoln,  N.  H. — Small  town  patronage. 

SOUTH  POLE  FLIGHT:  Oswald— Good  cartoon. 
Nice  filler  for  variety.— Wolfe  &  Williams,  Screen- 
land  theatre,  Nevada,  O. — Small  town  patronage. 

THAT'S  THAT:  Good.  Two  reels.— Elmer  E.  Vos- 
burgh, Tivoli  theatre,  Mishawaka,  Ind.— General  pat- 
ronage. 

WATCH  GEORGE:  Fair.  Two  reels.— Elmer  E. 
Vosburgh,  Tivoli  theatre,  Mishawaka,  Ind. — General 
patronage. 


64 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


700  Educators  Cooperate  with  Industry  in 
Training  Voices  for  Audiens 


SEVEN  hundred  educators  are  returning  to  their  colleges  in  all  parts  of 
the  nation  this  week  with  a  direct  plea  from  their  leaders  for  active 
cooperation  with  the  motion  picture  industry,  particularly  in  the  field 
of  the  talking  picture. 


Lectures  on  the  new  school  of  motion 
picture  technic,  launched  at  the  University 
of  Southern  California  at  the  request  of 
the  Academy  of  Motion  Picture  Arts  and 
Sciences  at  Hollywood,  were  given  Satur- 
day, December  29,  at  the  Oakland  Square 
theatre,  Chicago,  and  supported  by  several 
dialogue  pictures  showing  the  development 
of  speech  training  for  the  new  type  produc- 
tion. 

Dean  R.  K.  Immel  of  the  school  of  speech 
of  the  University  of  Southern  California, 
and  Prof.  W.  R.  MacDonald,  head  of  the 
department  of  dramatics,  prophesied  that 
the  socalled  talking  picture  is  here  to  stay 
and  that  the  four-year  course  in  technic 
will  help  develop  for  the  audien  an  art  of 
its  own,  with  its  own  personnel. 

Prof.  J.  P.  Ryan  of  Grinnell,  president  of 
the  National  Association  of  Teachers  of 
Speech,  presided  at  the  sessions  of  the  asso- 
ciation at  the  Stevens  hotel  and  at  the 
demonstration  at  the  Oakland  Square 
theatre. 

Freshman  Already  Busy 

Freshmen  already  are  taking  the  pre- 
liminary courses  of  the  motion  picture 
school,  which  was  founded  following  a  long 
period  of  intensive  survey  at  the  studios  by 
Professor  MacDonald.  Seniors  will  be  ap- 
prenticed to  the  studios,  after  having  spe- 
cialized in  their  final  two  years  at  the 
university.  Specialists  in  cinematography 
will  concentrate  their  work  in  the  physics 
subjects,  laboratory  students  in  the  chem- 
istry courses,  and  the  like. 

With  a  refined  form  of  the  Telegraphone, 
tests  already  are  being  made  on  the  voices 
of  actors  and  already  considerable  progress 
has  been  made.  First  was  Anita  Page,  who 
had  had  no  stage  speaking  experience,  and 
the  improvement  made  was  both  notable 
and  astounding,  the  educators  said. 

It  was  a  new  idea  for  the  motion  picture 
to  go  to  the  schools  for  help,  Professor 
MacDonald  informed  the  convention.  He 
told  of  the  formation  of  the  Academy  of 
Motion  Picture  Arts  and  Sciences  and  its 
development,  with  the  naming  of  the  com- 
mittee on  practical  cooperation  with  the 
university  in  establishment  of  a  motion  pic- 
ture course. 

"On  that  committee  were  Milton  Sifts, 
Douglas  Fairbanks,  Conrad  Nagel  and 
others,"  Professor  MacDonald  said.  "A  first 
step  was  adoption  of  a  plan  to  place  some- 
one in  the  industry  from  the  university  to 
determine  what  courses  should  be  taught. 
I  was  placed  in  the  studios.  They  insisted 
that  there  be  a  complete  four-year  course, 
not  a  diploma  mill. 


week.  On  aesthetics  the  lecturers  will  in- 
clude Dr.  Von  Kleinschmidt,  president  of 
the  university,  Dr.  Kate  Gordon  and 
William  DeMille;  history,  D.  W.  Griffith, 
Frank  Woods  and  Mary  Pickford;  business 
and  administration,  Mike  Levy,  production 
head  of  United  Artists,  and  Louis  B.  Mayer, 
vice-president  in  charge  of  production  at 
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.  Lecturers  repre- 
senting the  actors  will  include  James  Cruze 
and  King  Vidor.  Following  the  lectures 
there  will  be  discussions,  with  apparatus 
already  on  hand  for  studying  the  voice  in 
motion  pictures.  Likewise  a  reference 
library  has  been  arranged. 

"I  had  been  on  the  M  G  M  lot  for  six 
months,  with  Harry  Rapf,  associate  pro- 
ducer, cooperating  with  me  in  my  survey, 
before  the  socalled  sound  picture  problem 
arose.  Before  that,  the  motion  picture  in- 
dustry had  been  at  a  standstill. 

"I  have  se.en  the  sound  stages  in  con- 
struction. They  are  in  themselves  abso- 
lutely vibrationless.  I  saw  the  pits  for 
foundations  dug  eighteen  feet  deep.  Then 
was  built  a  concrete  foundation  three  feet 
thick,  then  18  inches  of  cork  and  rubber, 
next  three  more  feet  of  concrete,  and  so  on. 
The  floor  was  built  of  concrete,  for  the  first 
time." 

Dean  Immel  declared  that  the  Academy 
was  not  organized  for  teaching,  as  the  name 
might  suggest. 

"The  possibilities  of  the  Academy  are 
very,  very  great,"  he  said.  "It  is  the  most 
significant  movement  to  us  in  the  history 
of  the  industry.  There  are  those  in  the 
studios  who  are  interested  in  the  artistic 
side.  There  are  those  who  are  not.  One 
leader  said  that  the  aim  of  the  motion  pic- 
ture was  to  furnish  entertainment;  if  it  had 
art  he  wouldn't  hold  that  against  it.  They 
don't  apologize  for  being  in  it  to  make 
money.  But  the  Academy  is  not  in  it  for 
profit. 

"Are  talking  pictures  permanent  or  just 
a  fad?  I  believe  they  are  permanent.  I 
don't  believe  there  is  any  question  about  it. 
Those  opposed  probably  are  actuated  by  in- 
adequate reproduction  or  by  their  own 
desires.  Sometimes  the  sound  seems  to 
have  come  through  a  barrel.  But  you  must 
remember  that  they're  in  the  same  situation 
as  the  silent  film  was  years  ago.  At  United 
Artists  and  at  M  G  M,  for  example,  pictures 
just  made  with  the  voice  reproduced  are  so 
far  ahead  of  those  you  have  heard  that  you 
scarcely  would  believe  the  same  apparatus 
was  used.    The  difficulty  is  that  the  ap- 


Two  Years  in  Specializing 

"It  was  decided  that  the  first  two  years 
consist  of  cultural  courses  as  for  other  pro- 
fessions, the  last  two  to  be  for  specializing. 
Those  who  were  to  study  cinematography, 
for  example,  would  be  placed  in  the  physics 
department,  those  studying  laboratory  tech- 
nique in  the  chemistry  department,  those 
taking  scenario  work  in  the  English  depart- 
ment, and  so  on. 

"The  need  of  a  practical  tieup  was  antici- 
pated. Senior  students  in  their  last  semester 
will  be  taken  into  the  studios  as  appren- 
tices. If  they  prove  satisfactory  they  need 
not  worry  about  jobs.  Freshmen  now  are 
taking  the  course  and  a  survey  course  will 
start  next  semester. 

"There  will  be  two  hours  of  lectures  a 


"The  Four  Feathers"  to  Be 
Released  Without  Dialogue 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2.— Announce- 
ment from  Jesse  Lasky  is  that  "The 
Four  Feathers"  will  be  released  with 
sound  and  music  synchronization 
only.  "  'The  Four  Feathers'  will  be 
released  in  its  natural  form,"  said  Mr. 
Lasky.  "Dialogue  can  augment  the 
dramatic  passages  of,  nany  subjects 
but  it  certainly  canr.ot  help,  and  it 
might  impair  a  production  of  such 
sweeping  action  anr  emotion  as  this 
story." 


paratus  thus  far  has  been  made  for  radio 
and  phonograph. 

"Speech  is  much  harder  to  reproduce  than 
music.  The  high  frequencies  are  the 
reason.  Consonants  and  sibilants  particu- 
larly give  great  difficulty.  Yet  tremendous 
progress  is  being  made. 

Three  Types  of  Recording 

"There  are  three  types  of  recording.  One 
is  the  wax  recording  phonograph  device, 
as  Vitaphone.  The  second  and  third  types 
are  both  recorded  on  the  film;  the  one  is 
the  socalled  hill  and  dale  method,  shown  by 
the  jagged  sound  track  on  the  film,  as  in 
Movietone;  the  other  is  based  on  recording 
variable  density  of  light  fluctuations,  as  in 
Photophone. 

"Many  actors  are  slated  to  go  if  sound 
replaces  the  silent  pictures,  as  I  believe  it 
eventually  will  do.  The  talking  picture 
ultimately  will  develop  an  art  of  its  own, 
with  its  own  people  and  its  own  technique. 

Big  Effect  on  Speech 

"There  is  the  question  whether  the  talk- 
ing pictures  will  have  an  effect  on  American 
speech.  I  believe  they  eventually  are  going 
to  have  the  strongest  influence  on  speech. 
What  that  influence  will  be  is  largely  up  to 
us.  The  aloof  attitude  is  not  the  right  one. 
If  a  character  is  supposed  to  be  using  good 
speech  he  should  use  good  speech.  The 
Academy  is  interested  in  this,  and  it  sug- 
gests that  the  members  of  this  organization 
send  in  criticisms  on  the  speaking  in  pic- 
tures which  they  see. 

"The  stage  never  has  had  a  very  great 
effect  on  speech.  You  can't  speak  naturally 
on  the  stage.  It's  an  illusion  of  naturalness 
that  makes  an  actor  a  good  actor.  Ability 
to  create  that  illusion  marks  the  successful 
talking  picture  actor." 

Speech  Defects  Corrected 

The  first  "patient"  sent  to  the  university 
for  voice  analysis  was  Anita  Page,  screen 
actress  who  had  no  experience  whatever 
save  in  silent  drama. 

Her  voice  record  was  carefully  taken  over 
the  Telegraphone,  and  reproduced,  and  the 
actress  herself  was  able,  at  first  hearing,  to 
correct  a  number  of  mistakes  both  in 
enunciation  and  in  emphasizing  of  certain 
tones. 

"The  use  of  the  Telegraphone,"  said  Dean 
Immel,  "in  connection  with  training  the 
voice  of  a  screen  player,  is  a  far  different 
problem  from  that  of  training  the  stage 
player.  In  the  case  of  one  acting  on  a 
stage,  volume  must  be  developed  by  stand- 
ardized methods,  as  the  voice  must  carry 
over  the  footlights. 

"In  adapting  the  voice  of  an  actor  or 
actress  to  the  talking  picture  this  is  not 
necessary.  As  in  the  radio,  a  socalled  whis- 
pering voice  works  no  harm,  as  it  can  be 
amplified  at  will  at  the  control  board.  Thus 
the  actor  for  screen  talking  pictures  need 
not  worry  greatly  about  developing  volume, 
and  so  can  devote  all  his  time  to  develop- 
ing correct  diction. 

"By  scientific  tests  and  measurements  we 
locate  the  principal  defects  and  mistakes  in 
his  voice  and  go  after  these,  with  the  result 
that  a  very  short  time  sees  him  sufficiently 
trained  to  make  a  very  good  showing.  Ex- 
periments will  enable  operators  to  control 
the  matter  of  volume,  and  the  actor,  not 
being  required  to  strain  for  loudness,  will 
be  better  able  to  enact  a  role,  perhaps,  than 
even  on  the  speaking  stage." 

Professor  MacDonald  says  the  training  in 
the  main  will  be  much  like  the  training 
being  developed  for  radio  speakers. 


January  5,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


65 


(.Continued  from  page  56) 


Bo»nd    Length  Title  and  Players 


New 

Picture) 


Comment 


CMS 

SMI 

4848 
5808 
4571 

6908 

6515 
6675 
5900 
48  27 
(490 
5260 


1927 


1928 


MB 


ME 
ME 


AT 
T 


ME 
ME 
MB 

1928 


6775 
6209 


1927 


1928 

ME 
ME 

r 

AT 


ME 
T 

MB 

T 

T 

AT 
T 


5510 

63(12 
5477 


6126 
5334 

8297 
8653 
6676 

7785 
6708 


6101 

6735 
7256 
6652 
6381 

5253 


5000 
7500 
7311 
8560 
•120 
9000 
7458 
8250 
8000 

7972 
8260 
6400 


7000 
9358 

9100 
8350 
7300 


6400 
9300 


8500 
8350 


•243 

4179 
6311 
4322 
4201 
5367 
5109 
7828 
•474 


Man  From  Headquarter!,  The  (D),  Cornelius. 
Keefe-B.  Roberts  


.  Aug. 


5754 
5869 
7300 
4887 
6482 
5233 
4752 
5800 
6049 
6235 
6629 
6182 
6276 

6448 
6614 


Midnight  Adventure.  A  (D).  Landis-E.  Murphy_May 

Mystery  Valley  (W).  Buddy  Roosevelt  July 

My  Home  Town  (D).  Brockwell-Glass  Jan. 

Painted  Trail.  The  (W),  Buddy  Roosevelt  Mar. 

Phantom  ot  the  Turf.  The  (D),  Costello-Leaae—  Feb. 

Ships  of  the  Night  (D).  Logan-Rankin.  Dec. 

Should  a  Girl  Marry?  (D),  Foster-Keith  Nov. 

Sisters  of  Eve  (D),  Mae  Busrh   Sept. 

Sweet  Sixteen  (D).  Helen  Foster-Olmstead  An*. 

Trail  Riders  (W),  Buddy  Roosevelt  April 

Wild  Bern  (W),  Tex  Maynard   jjar. 

Yoo  Cao't  Beat  the  Law.  Lee  Keefe  Jan. 

Tiffany-Stahl 

Backstage  (CD),'  Bedford     

Beauty  Shoppe  (CD),  Busch    

College  Days  (CD).  M.  Day_  .  

Enchanted  Island  (D)  _ 


Fools  of  Fashion  (CD),  Busch..—   

Girl  from  Gay  Paree,  The  (F),  Sherman   Sept.  15 

Haunted  Ship.  The  (M),  Sebastian-M.  Lore  Dec  1 

Joselyn's  Wife   (D),  Frederick.  

Lightning  (W),  J.  Ralston.. 


1927 

-July  9 
-July  16 
-Nov.  6 
.June  26 


Oct.  9 


Night  Life  (CD).  Day-Harron  

Once  and  Forever  (D).  Patsy  Ruth  MUler_. 

Snowbound  (FC).  Blytbe...-  -  

Streets  of  Shanghai  (RD).  Starke-Harlan... 

Tired  Business  Man   (C)     _  

Wild  Geese  (D).  BeUe  Bennett.   

Women's  Wares  (D).  Brent-Lytell  


 -Sept.  1 

 Nov.  1 

 Oct.  15 


...Dec.  15     Mar.  10 


.  July  30 


Nov.  15 

-  Oct.  1 


Dec.  24     Dec.  10 


Bachelor's  Paradise  (R),  Sally  O'NeiL  Mar.  15 

Big  Top.  The  (CD).  Sally  0"NeU    Oct.  30 

Broadway  Fever  (D),  Sally  O'Nel]  3eDt.  30 

Cavalier,  The  (D).  Talmadge- Bedford  Nov.  1 

Clothes  Make  the  Woman  (R).  Southern- 

Ptdgeon  .  _May  1 

Devil's  Apple  Tree.  The  (D).  Dorothy  Sebaatian..Sept.  20 

Devil's  Skipper,   The.   Bennett   _       Feb.  1 

Domestic  Meddlers  (CD).  Claire  Windsor.   Aug.  15 

Floating  College,  The,  O'NeU-Hale  Nov.  10 

George  Washington  Cohen  (CD).  Jes.w)-Palmer_  Dec.  20 
Girl  Who  Came  Back,  The,  Patsy  Ruth  Miller—  . Mar.  10 

Grain  of  Dust.  The  (D),  Cortez-Windsor  July  10 

Green  Grass  Widows  (CD),  Walter  Hagen  June  10 

Gun  Runner,  The  (D).  Cortex-Lane   Nor.  20 

House  of  Scandal  (D).  Sebastian-O'Malley  Apr.  1 

Ladies  of  the  Night  Club  (CD).  Cortez-Moran.  Hay  15 

Lingerie  (CD).  White- McGregor  Jnlv  1 

Man  in  the  Hobbles,  The.  Harron-Llttlefleld  Jan.  10 

Marriage  by  Contract.  Miller-Gray  Dec.  1 

Nameless  Men.  Moreno  -   Feb.  15 

Naughty  Duchess.  The  (D).  H.  B.  Warner  Oct  10 

New  Orleans,  Cortez- Collier.  Jr.  Mar.  1 

Power  of  Silence.  The  (O).  Belle  Bennett  Oct  20 

Prowlers  of  the  Sea  (D).  Cortez-Myere  June  20 

Rainbow.  The.  Gray-Hardy  jsn.  1 

Reputation  (D).  Belle  Bennett  Nov.  10 

Spirit  of  Youth.  The.  Kent-Sebastian.  Feb.  20 

Scarlet  Dove,  The  (O).  Margaret  Livingston.  Apr.  16 

Squads  Right  (CD),  Gribbon-Stone  Feb,  1 

Stormy  Waters  (D).  Southern-McGregor  June  1 

Toilers.  The,  Fairbanks.  Jr.-Ralston    Oct.  1 

Their  Hour  (D),  Sebastian-Harron  Mar.  1 

Tragedy  of  Youth.  Miller-Collier  Jan.  15 

Tropical  Nights,  Patsy  Ruth  Miller.  Dec.  10 

Woman  Against  the  World.  A  Jan.  1 

United  Artists 

College  (C).  Keaton-CornwaU.  SepL  10 

General.  The  (C).  Keaton.   

Loves  of  Soiya  (D).  Swanson.  

Magio  Flame.  The  (M),  Colman-Banky  Sept.  24 

Resurrection  (M),  La  Rocque  _   

Sorrell  and  Son  (D).  Warner-NUsson.  Nor. 

Topsy  and  Eva  (C).  Duncan  Sisters.  

Two  Arabian  Knights  (CD),  Boyd-Wolhelm.  

Winning  of  Barbara  Worth  (D),  Banky-Colmaa  


..Not.  10 


Mar.  31 


-Not.  17 


Awakening,  The,  Vilma  Banky  

Battle  of  the  Sexes,  The.  Hersholt-Haver- 

Circus,  The  (C).  Charlie  Chaplin.-  

City  Lights.  Charlie  Chaplin  

Coquette.  Mary  Pickford.  -   

Devil  Dancer,  The,  Gilda  Gray  


-Not.  17 
-Oct.  12 


Douglaa  Fairbanks  as  the  Gaucho  (M)  June  1 

Dove.  The  (M),  Norma  Talmadge   Jan.  7 

Drums  of  Love  (D).  Mary  Phllbin.  Mar.  31 

Garden  of  Eden.  The  (D).  C.  Griffith-Ray  Feb.  4 

Hell's  Angels,  Ben  Lyon-Nissen  ,  

Iron  Mask,  The,  Douglas  Fairbanks  — .— . — 

King  of  the  Mountains.  John  Barrymore  

Lady  of  the  Pavements.  Boyd-Goudal    

Lummox   —   

Nightstick,  CMalley-Busch    

Queen  Kelley,  Gloria  Swanson..-   

Ramona  (D).  Del  Rio.. 


-Apr.  28 
-Nov.  26 
-Jan.  7 
-July  21 


Rescue.  The,  Ronald  Colman- 
Revenge,  Dolores  Del  Rio... 


Sadie  Thompson  (D).  Gloria  Swanson— 

Say  It  With  Music,  Harry  Richman  

She  Goes  to  War,  Broadman-Holland  

Steamboat  Bill,  Jr.,  Buster  Keaton  

Tempest   (M).  John  Barrymore   

Three  Passions.  Terry-Petrovitch  

Two  Lovers,  Banky-Colman  

Woman  Disputed,  The,  Norma  Talmadge— 


_  Aug. 
-Jan.  12 
.Not.  S 
...Feb.  1 


...  Jan.  7 
_  Aug.  11 


-May  26 

-July  7 


....  Sept.  7 
...  Oct.  20 


Sept.  1 


Universal 


Anybody  Here  Seen  Kelly,  Bessie  Love-Moore-  Sept.  9 

Beauty  and  Bullets,  Ted  Wells  Dec.  16 

Clearing  the  Trail.  Hoot  Gibson   Oct.  7 

Cloud  Dodger.  The,  Al  Wilson  Sept.  30 

Crimson  Canyon,  The,  Ted  Wells  Oct.  14 


Sept.  8 


Danger  Rider,  The.  Hoot  Gibson... 

Flyin'  Cowboy.  The,  Hoot  Gibson  

Foreign  Legion,  The,  Lewis  Stone-Kerry  - 
Freedom  ot  the  Press,  Lewia  Stone  


—Not.  18 
—  July  1 
 Sept.  23 


Mot.  17 


Sept.  22 


Sound    Length   Title  and  Players 


Released 


New  Comment 
Pictures 


M 


4194 
8599 
4868 
6307 
6691 
6832 
10185 

  6030 

  6702 

  5907 

  4230 

  4472 

  5424 

  4616 

TUB  10600 

1929 


ME 

r 


Gate  Crasher,  The  (CD)  —     Dec.  9 

Give  and  Take.  Sidney-Hersholt  Dec.  23 

Greased  Lightning,  Ted  Wells  July  29 

Grip  of  the  Yukon.  The,  Marlowe-Bushman  Sept.  30 

Guardians  of  the  Wild,  Rex-Perrin  Sept.  16 

Home  James,  Laura  LaPlante   Sept.  2 

How  to   Handle  Women,  Tryon-Nixon  Oct.  14 

Jazz  Mad,  Heraholt-Nlxon.   Nov.  11 

Man  Who  Laughs,  The,  Philbin-Veidt-  Nov.  4 

Michigan  Kid,  The.  Adoree-Nagel   _  Oct.  21 

Night  Bird,  The.  Reginald  Denny  Sept.  16 

Phyllla  ol  the  Follies,  Alice  Day-M.  Moore  Nov.  25 

Price  of  Fear,  Bill  Cody   Oct.  29 

Quick  Triggers.  Fred  Humes    July  15 

Riding  for  Fame.  Hoot  Gibson  Aug.  19 

Two  Outlaws,  The.  Jack  Perrin-Bex    Nov.  18 

Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  All  Star   Sept.  2 

Wolves  of  the  City,  Bill  Cody  Dec.  2 


Apr.  28 


Sept.  8 


Blow  for  Blow,  Hoot  Gibson  

Border  Wildcat  The,  Ted  Wells- 


May  19 
Aug.  18 
Mar.  10 
Apr.  14 


T 

MT 


5501 


MB   

T  6785 

ME  6674 

T   


Born  to  the  Saddle,  Ted  Wells 

Charlatan,  The,  All  Star  

Cohens  and  Kellys  in  Atlantic  City  (CD) 

George  Sidney        _  „.  Mar.  17 

Come  Across,  All  Star  May  5 

Dangerous  Dimples.  Laura  LaPlante  June  16 

Eyes  of  the  Underworld,  Bill  Cody..—  Apr.  28 

Girl  on  the  Barge,  The.  O'Neill-Hersholt  —Feb.  24 

Harvest  of  Hate.  The,  Rex-Jack  Perrin.  Apr.  14 

Hero  of  the  Circus.  Maciste      —  Feb.  24 

His  Lucky  Day,  Reginald  Denny  June  2 

Hoofbeats  of  Vengeance.  Rex-Perrin..—    June  16 

It  Can't  Be  Done,  Tryon-Sue  Carol  May  5 

Kid's  Clever.  The,  Trron..-   Feb.  17 

King  of  the  Rodeo,  Hoot  Gibson  Jan.  6 

Lariat  Kid,  The.  Hoot  Gibson    June  23 

Last  Warning.  The.  LaPIante-Boles—   Jan.  6 

Lonesome  (CD),  Glenn  Tyron  —  lan.  20 

Man,  Women  and  Wife  (CD).  Kerry-Starke  Ian.  13 

One  Rainy  Night  (D),  Laura  LaPlante.  Mar.  3 

Play  Goes  On.  The.  All  Star      Mar.  10 

Plunging  Hoofs,  Rex-Perrin   Aug.  4 

Red  Hot  Speed.  Reginald  Denny  -  Jan.  27 

Ridin'  Demon,  The.  Ted  Wells   May  19 

...  Jan.  20 

—  Mar.  24 
 June  30 

—  Apr.  7 

—  June  2 
—May  25 


Silks  and  Saddles  (D).  Marion  Nixon- 
Slim  Fingers,  BUI  Cody  

Smilin'  Terror.  The.  Ted  Wells  

Smilin'  Guns,  Hoot  Gibson.   

Stool  Pigeon.  The.  Bill  Cody.. 


1927 


6803 
6330 
6408 
5003 
6767 
6978 
6302 
6230 
5397 
6569 
5492 
5685 
6685 
6412 
8412 
6813 


You  Can't  Buy  Love,  All  Star  .  

Warner  Brothers 

Black  Diamond  Express  (M),  Blue 


Brass  Knuckles  (D),  Blue-Bronsen  Dec.  3 

Desired  Woman,  The  (M)  Irene  Rich   Aug.  27 

Dog  of  the  Regiment,  A  (M),  Rin-Tln-Tln  Oct.  20 

.First  Auto.  The.  Oldfleld-Mlller  Sept.  19 

Girl  from  Chicago,  The  (M).  Nagel-Loy  Nov.  5 

Good  Time  Charley  (D).  Oland-H.  Costello  Nor.  12 

If  I  Were  Single.  McAvoy-Nagel  Dec  17 

Irish  Hearts  (CD).  McAvoy  

Jaws  of  Steel  (D),  Rln-Tin-Tln  Sept.  17  " 

Reno  Divorce,  A  (D).  May  McAvoy  Oct.  22 

Sailor  Izzy  Murphy  (F),  George  Jesael   Oct.  8 

Sailor's  Sweetheart,  A  (C).  Fazenda-C.  Cook.  Sept.  24 

Simple  Sis  (M).  Fazenda     

Slightly  Used.  McAvoy-NageL— 


July  23 


Dec.  31 
Dec.  31 


-July  * 


Tracked  by  the  Police  (M).  Rln-Tln-Tln- 


.Sept.  3 


Nov.  28 
..Apr.  28 
..June  11 
..OcL  1 
..Oct.  29 
-Dec.  10 
-Oct.  16 

June  11 


-Hay  11 


Note:  All  Warner  pictures  are  released  in  two  versions,  with 
Vitaphone.  A.  T.  means  All-Talking.  Other  releases  have 
scores  plus  sound  effects  and  dialogue  sequences. 


and  without 
synchronized 


1928 

M  6051 
M  6380 


TME 
M 

TME 

AT 

TUB 

AT 

TMH 

M 

AT 

M 

M 

M 

TMH 

TME 

AT 

TME 

1929 

AT 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

TME 

AT 

TME 

1928 


6270 
5164 
7441 
8693 
7077 
5267 
6352 
5331 
8290 
6186 
4777 
4820 
7169 
7340 
7664 
5527 


Across  the  Atlantic,  Blue-Murphy  

Beware  of  Married  Men,  Irene  Rich  

Beware  of  Bachelors,  Ferris- Beranger  

Caught  in  the  Fog,  Nagel-McAvoy  

Domestio  Trouble  (CD),  Cook-Fazenda  

Glorious  Betsy,  D.  Costello  

Home  Towners,  Kenyon-Elleson  

Jazz  Singer,  The.  Al  Jolson-. 


 Feb.  25 

—  Jan.  14 


..Nov.  19 


-Sept.  22 


-Oct.  ( 
-Apr.  14 


Lights  of  New  York.  All  8 tar  

Lion  and  the  Mouse,  The,  L.  Barrymore  

Little  Snob,  The,  May  McAvoy  

On  Trial,  Bert  Lyteh  -  


.  Feb.  4 
.July  21 


Powder  My  Back  (C).  Rich-Ferris.. 
Race  for  Life,  Rin-Tin-Tin.. 


 Feb.  11 

 Dec  29 

 Max.  10 

 Jan.  28 

Rinty  of  the  Desert,  Rin-Tin-Tin  Apr.  21 

State  Street  Sadie.  Nagel-Loy  Aug.  26 

Tenderloin,  Dolores  Costello  _   

Terror,  The,  McAvoy-Horton.    Oct.  20 

Women  They  Talk  About.  Rich-Ferris  .Sept.  8 


-JJec  1 
-May  19 


Feb.  18 
May  19 


-Apr.  It 


Conquest,    Monte  Blue   

Desert  Song,  The,  John  Boles- 
Fancy  Baggage,  Audrey  Ferris  _   

From  Headquarters,  Monte  Blue    

Frozen  River.  Rin-Tin-Tin     _  

Greyhound  Limited.  The,  Monte  Blue    

Hardbolled  Rose,  Myrna  Loy     

Kid  Gloves,  Conrad  Nagel-Lois  Wilson  

Land  of  the  Silver  Fox.  Bln-Tln-Tin  . 

Little  Wildcat,  The,  Audrey  Ferris.  

Madonna  of  Ave.  A,  Dolores  Costello  

Million  Dollar  Collar,  The,  Rin-Tin-Tin.  

My  Man,  Fannie  Brice     

No   Defense.   Monte  Blue.  -    

One  Stolen  Night.  B.  Bronson-Wm.  Collier.  Jr... 

Redeeming  Sin.  The,  Dolores  Costello  —  

She  Knew.  Men,  Betty  Bronaon  


   Jan.  19 


Singing  Fool,  The,  Al  Jolson  

Stark  Mad,  H.  B.  Wamer-L.  Fazenda- 
Stolen  Kisses,  May  McAvoy  _  


Last  Moment.  The, 
Mother  of  Mine  


Zakc 


tora 

Matiesen-Hale.   


Olympic  Hero,  Charley  Paddock. 


 Mar.  11 

 Dec. 

 June  25 


66 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  5,  1929 


CHICAGO  PERSONALITIES 


By  J.  F. 

TIFFANY-STAHL  sent  some  of  the  "big  folks"  out  from  New  York  last 
week  to  conduct  a  coming-out  party  for  the  new  general  sales  manager, 
Oscar  Hanson.  The  luncheons,  dinners  and  things  were  held  at  th? 
Stevens,  Friday  and  Saturday,  and  Friday  the  whole  gang  of  31  (and  that  includes 
"Mac"  McLaughlin,  we'll  have  you  know)  went  over  to  the  Chicago  theatre 
studio  and  saw  and  heard  George  Jessel  in  "Lucky  Boy."  For  further  details,  see 
the  news  section.    And  yet — 


No  Faking  in  This  See, 
Hear  and  Feel  Show! 

Editor,  Exhibitors  Herald-World, 
Dear  Sir: 

I  believe  that  I  am  the  first  small 
town  exhibitor  to  introduce  sound  and 
effects.  A  few  years  ago  while  show- 
ing Fox's  "Johnstown  Flood,"  a  heavy 
rain  came  up  and  as  the  house  I  was 
then  in  had  several  bad  leaks,  it  be- 
gan to  come  through.  It  increased  as 
the  feature  progressed  and  was  com- 
ing in  heavy  in  time  for  the  flood 
scenes.  The  salesmen  agree  it  was 
the  first  they'd  heard  about  Vita- 
phone. 

Yours  truly, 

C.  C.  CASSADY, 

Cloverdale,  Ind. 


It  must  be  said  here  that  the  convention 
being  in  their  particular  bailiwick,  Mc- 
Laughlin and  Eph  Rosen  had  plenty  things 
to  do  on  those  two  days.  There  was,  for 
example,  the  luncheon  Saturday,  when  Al — 
er — we  mean,  George  Jessel,  who  has  a  new 
piece  at  the  Harris,  came  over  for  a  good 
meal,  reciprocating,  however,  with  a  few 
comically  chosen  words  about  his  experi- 
ences in  the  talking  picture  business. 

Then  there  was  the  theatre  party  at  the 
Harris  Friday  night,  and  a  banquet  at  the 
Stevens  Saturday  night.  Between  times,  of 
course,  all  Eph  and  "Mac"  had  to  do  was 
listen  to  sales  talks  and  such. 

*  'Hf  .♦ 

Incidentally,  which  is  the  way  many 
things  happen  at  conventions,  Roy  Avey, 
branch  manager  at  Oklahoma  City,  saved  a 
woman's  life  at  the  Stevens.  Just  how,  we 
forget.  But  no  matter.  John  Franconi, 
who  runs  the  exchange  at  Kansas  City, 
asked  us  to  set  it  down  here  so  as  to  have 
an  imperishable  record  of  the  feat,  which 
both  he  and  Bob  Kelly,  New  Orleans  man- 
ager, declare  to  be  an  absolute  fact. 
*    *  * 

The  Symphony  theatre  at  4923  West  Chi- 
cago Avenue,  has  been  leased  by  the 
United  Theatres  Corporation  for  20  years. 
The  new  policy  is  stage  productions  as  well 
as  pictures,  with  sound.  Albert  Goldman 
was  the  broker. 

*  *  * 

Max  Reinhardt,  the  German  theatrical 
producer,  and  Lillian  Gish,  who  has  a  sister 
named  Dorothy,  were  in  town  last  week, 
on  their  way  to  Hollywood,  where  they  will 
begin  production  of  a  new  picture  starring 
Miss  Gish  February  1.  It  will  be  Rein- 
hardt's  first  picture.  United  Artists  will  re- 
lease it. 

About  500  patrons  got  more  than  the 
thrills  they  had  paid  for  Sunday  night,  when 
a  negro  robber  entered  the  Metropolitan  on 
South  Parkway  and  proceeded  upon  nefari- 
ous business  that  ended  up  in  his  shooting 
and  killing  Matthew  Taylor,  the  manager. 
The  house  caters  to  colored  patronage.  Tay- 
lor, who  was  in  his  office  counting  receipts 
of  about  $2,000,  opened  the  door  of  the  box 
office  at  the  frightened  command  of  Mrs. 
Lillian  Lee,  the  organist,  whom  the  robber 
was  threatening.  Struck  by  Taylor,  the 
man  shot  him  through  the  heart  and  fled, 
and  he  died  on  the  way  to  the  hospital. 


Splendid  opportunity  for  two  representatives 
in  Illinois  and  Indiana  with  one  of  largest 
distributors  of  talking  picture  equipment.  Ex- 
perience in  film  or  allied  business  necessary. 
Communications  confidential.  Commission 
basis  with  limited  drawing  account  for  ex- 
penses. Write  box  34^  Exhibitors  Herald- 
World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago,  111. 


Biophone  is  making  a  rapid  progress  here- 
abouts, according  to  Jerry  Abrams.  A  ma- 
chine is  being  installed  in  the  Castle  thea- 
tre, another  in  the  Colonial,  Sioux  City, 
Mo.,  and  one  in  the  Van  Der  Vaart  thea- 
tre, Sheboygan,  Wis.  According  to  Abrams, 
all  machines  will  be  ready  for  use  about 
January  7.  A  new  attachment  makes  them 
capable  of  reproducing  sound  from  films  as 
well  as  discs. 

The  mother  of  Sol  Grauman,  booker  for 
Educational,  passed  away  last  week. 

*  *  * 

Elizabeth  Wetters,  secretary  to  Henry 
Herbel,  of  Universal,  also  lost  her  mother 
in  death  last  week. 

*  *  * 

Joe  Estes,  San  Antonio  exhibitor,  visited 
Jack  Baker  last  week  at  the  Universal  ex- 
change. 

*  *  * 

Richard  Barthelmess,  First  National  star, 
passed  through  Chicago  last  week  on  his 
way  to  New  York. 

*  *  * 

Paul  Bolka,  operator  of  theatres  in  Des 
Plaines  and  Park  Ridge,  has  returned  to  his 
home  from  the  hospital.  Bolka  was  injured 
when  a  piece  of  steel  flew  into  his  eye. 

Max  Schwartz  and  Frank  Ishmael  are 
on  their  vacation  from  the  MGM  office. 

*  *  * 

"Fleets  of  the  Sea,"  MGM  picture  was 
given  a  private  screening  last  week.  Ramon 
Novarro  heads  the  cast. 

*    *  * 

Notice  to  the  hungry:  Tess  Heraty  re- 
ceived 22  boxes  of  candy  for  Christmas. 

Saul  Goldman,  booker  for  Gotham,  shaved 
off  his  mustache  the  day  before  Christmas, 
because,  he  said,  "everybody  thought  I  was 
Santa    Claus,    and    my    pocketbook  was 


Our  "Longest  -  in  -  the  -  Industry  Club" 
keeps  growing.  This  week  Fox  has  con- 
tributed the  records  of  11  employes  who 
have  been  with  the  company  for  six  or  more 
years.  Louis  Dreher,  head  of  the  booking 
department,  has  been  connected  with  Fox 
for  ten  years.  Before  coming  to  Fox,  Dre- 
her was  with  Paramount.  Louise  Schroe- 
der,  started  with  Fox  22  years  ago.  Miss 
Schroeder  is  chief  film  inspector.  Bob 
Tobin,  shipping  clerk,  has  served  12  years 
in  the  Fox  echange.  Charles  Walsh  has 
also  given  12  years  of  service  Ernie  Grohe, 
deluxe  salesman,  started  with  Fox  in  1916, 
and  is  still  going  strong.  Sarah  Zeman, 
contract  clerk,  can  celebrate  her  ninth  year 
as  a  member  of  the  Fox  <  taff.  Max  Levine, 
operator,  also  has  put  in  nine  years  with 
the  company,  while  Harold  Loeb,  salesman, 
has   been  with   Fox   eight  years.  Selma 


Hochman,  secretary  to  Clyde  Eckhardt,  has 
been  with  Fox  for  seven  years;  and  Mildred 
Vogelin,  cashier,  for  eight  years.  A.  M. 
Van  Dyke  has  just  completed  his  sixth  year 
with  the  Chicago  Fox  exchange,  but  al- 
together, Van  Dyke  has  been  with  Fox  for 
17  years.  There,  that's  a  record  for  some- 
one to  shoot  at. 


"Put  Teeth  in  Blue  Law 
Or  Repeal  It,"  Urges 
State  Senator-Elect 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

INDIANAPOLIS,  Jan.  2—  Put  teeth  in  the 
Sunday  blue  laws  of  Indiana  or  take  them  off 
the  statute  books.  This  is  a  declared  object 
of  John  L.  Niblack,  state  senator-elect  from 
here.  And  the  prayers  of  the  theatre  own- 
ers will  follow  him. 

The  system  in  Indiana  is  called  vicious.  The 
state  judicial  system  still  remains  too  largely 
on  a  tee  basis.  In  every  small  town  there  is 
a  penurious  justice  of  the  peace,  a  prosecutor 
in  the  county  who  does  not  make  much  money, 
and  attorneys  who  just  dote  on  defending 
somebody. 

While  the  theatre  owner  is  being  fined  and 
his  shows  stopped,  automobile  races,  mara- 
thon dances,  cock  fighting  and  so  on  proceed 
unmolested.  Niblack  says  the  law  represents 
class  legislation,  anyway. 


Pathe  Issues  12-Page  Press 
Book  for  "Tiger  Shadow9' 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  2.— Pathe  has  issued 
a  12-page  De  Luxe  Press  book  on  "The 
Tiger  Shadow,"  the  new  10  chapter  serial. 
The  press  book  contains  8  exploitation 
stunts,  ad  cuts,  star  and  scene  cuts  of  which 
the  showman  may  start  his  campaign  in 
advance  of  the  showing. 


Robber  Escapes  with  $391 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

PORTLAND,  ORE.,  Jan.  2.— The  Port- 
land Theatre  suffered  a  second  robbery 
Christmas  Eve,  when  a  robber  held  up  the 
cashier.  Upward  of  $4,000  was  in  a  loot, 
but  was  overlooked  by  the  robber  who  got 
away  with  $391. 


MILTON  M.  STERN 

The  How's  Insurance  Man. 

Life,  Accident,  Auto,  Fire  & 
Casualty  Lines 

1180  E.  63rd  St.     Phone  Fairfax  7200 


In  the  "Talkies"  too 


The  fidelity  of  sound  reproduction 
with  motion  pictures  is  affected  by 
every  variation  in  the  film  —  be  it 
ever  so  slight. 

That  is  why,  in  the  "Talkies" 
too,  Eastman  film  excels.  The  great 
quantities  in  which  it  is  produced, 
the  strict  supervision  constantly  ex- 
ercised —  the  resulting  uniformity 
from  roll  to  roll,  day  to  day,  year  to 
year  —  these  factors  of  Eastman  film 
manufacture  are  of  first  importance 
to  the  newest  development  of  the  art. 


EASTMAN  KODAK  COMPANY 

ROCHESTER,  X.  V. 


The  Screen's  Crack  Wisecrackers 
in  a  Talkfest  for  Wise  Showmen 


THE  world's  funniest  team  in  the 
world's  funniest  comedy— that's  THE 
DIPLOMATS,  latest  Fox-Movietone 
CLARK  and  McCULLOUGH  All- 
Dialog  Comedy. 

Now  convulsing  audiences  at  the  Gaiety 
Theatre,  New  York,  during  the  $2  top 
extended  run  of  "The  River." 

"This  is  a  delight." 

-Neu>  York  Morning  World 

"A  riot."— Exhibitors* 

Daily  Review 


WILLIAM  FOX  presents 

CLARK  and 
McCULLOUGH 


in 


The 


FOX  MOVIETONE  ALL-TALKING  COMEDY 
Directed  by 

Norman  Taurog 

Story  and  Dialog  by 

Arthur  Caesar 


MOVIETONE 

X  talkers 

talk  profits 


Keen  Competition  Needed,  States  Zukor 


E  X  H  I  BITORS 


RALD 


W 


■ 


/ 


FOLLOW  THE  LEADER! 


More  theatres  are  play* 

ing  xM-G'M's  Hal  Roach 
Comedies  and  M-Q-M's  Short 
Subjects  than  those  of  any  other 
company.    See  for  yourself! 


asp 


! 


"OUR 
GANG' 


Better  than 
ever.  "Our 
Gang"  rascals 
always  steal  the  show! 
"Noisy  Noises"  with  or 
without  Sound ! 


CHARLIE 
CHASE 

His  latest  "Off  to 
Buffalo"  is  the  fun- 
niest in  his  long  fun 
record ! 


LAUREL- This  §reat  Pair  is 

U&RnY   an  established 
draw!  Consistent 
hits  have  won  them  real  popu- 
larity!   See  them  in  "Liberty." 


METRO  -  MOVIETONE 

ACTS  M-G-M  within  six  months  is 
.topping  the  field  with  its  de  luxe  Movie- 
tone Acts.  A  great  library  of  Star  num- 
bers to  draw  from.  Second  series  now 
booking.  If  you're  planning  for  Sound, 
insure  the  success  of  your  investment 
with  Metro-Movietone  Acts! 

M-G-M  NEWS  A  Newsreel  that 
gives  the  News !  Twice  weekly  it  scoops 
all  rivals ! 

M-G-M  GREAT  EVENTS 

TheTechnicolor  dramatic  gems  of  feature 
calibre!  Watch  ror  "Manchu  Love." 


C  )  )J 


ROACH  ALL -STARS    M-G-M  ODDITIES  once 

known,  always  shown.  L  rA  s  world-wide 
Something  new  in  laughs!  thrills! 


Have 


Sxhihiiors  / 
Waiting  For/ 

A  permanent  music  feature  for  the 
average  exhibitor.  The  A^KS/p/e 
is  a  musical, artistic  and  structural 
achievement,  making  it  possible  for 
the  average  exhibitor  to  offer  his  pa- 
trons the  highest  tupe  of  performance 
at  a  minimum  cost. 

ThQtfetvSTy/e39  Q*to*rt  Morten  Unit 
Organ  is  different  from  all  other  organs. 
No  technical  description  can.  convey  the 
Wonderful  ran$e  of  musical  possibilities 
and  the  ama^inj  superiority  in  construc- 
tion. 

Before  "vjou  pass  Judgment- before  yon 
bmj  diiu  musical  equipment  of  amj  ti/pe 
whatsoever,  von  owe  it  to  uouts  elf  and 
your  patroivs  to  <get  complete  informa- 
tion on  this  wonderful  instrument. 

Robert  Mwtoi  Organ  G», 


New  York. 
1560  Broidway 


ChicifO 
624  SoMichifcaiv 


Los  Angeles 
1914  SoVermont 


SanFrancisco 
168  Golden  Gate 


UI40B% 

Organ  % 

Send  me  run 
obligation  full 
on  New  Style { 


Name 
Theatre 


Seating  Capacity. 
Gty  and  State  .  ... 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


"THE 

SHOPWORN 

ANGEL" 

smashes  records  in  same 
week  at  Paramount,  New 
fork*  and  Paramount, 
Brooklyn! 


*★ 


*  Former  record  $81,000 


**Former  record  $59,000 


When  the  tough  New 
York  critics  rave  like 
this,  it  means  plenty! 


"  'The  Shopworn  Angel'  is  thoroughly 
charming  and  engaging.  So  delightful 
in  storv,  action,  direction  and  titling  that 
it  is  assuredly  THE  MOST  LIKABLE  AND 
GENUINELY  HEART- WARMIN G 
PHOTOPLAY  TO  ARRIVE  HERE  IN 
MANY  WEEKS.  Nancy  Carroll  has  never 
been  as  good  as  she  is  in  the  role  of  the 
chorus  girl.  Gary  Cooper  is  engaging,  in- 
genuous. Paul  Lukas  is,  as  ever,  excep- 
tionally good."— Aett?  York  Herald  Tribune 

"Delightful,  convincing,  human,  beauti- 
fully acted.  Nancy  Carroll  plays  her  role 
magnificently.  Gary  Cooper  will  amaze 
fans.  He  gives  a  great  performance."  — .Veio 
York  Daily  Mirror 

"THEY  DON'T  COME  MUCH  MORE 
ENTERTAINING  THAN  'THE  SHOP- 
WORN ANGEL.'  Has  every  ingredient 
necessary  to  success." — Neiv  York  Daily 
News 

"Nancy  Carroll  looks  pretty  enough  to 
be  in  the  front  row  of  any  show,  in  fact 
right  out  in  front.  'The  Shopworn  Angel' 
is  ably  done  and  wonderfully  free  of 
hokum." — New  York  W orld. 

"Neat,  ingratiating.  Charming  Nancy 
Carroll  is  excellent.  ONE  OF  THE  BESt 
THINGS  I  HAVE  SEEN  AT  THE  PARA- 
MOUNT THIS  SEASON."  —  New  York 
Telegram. 

"An  amusing  film  handled  well.  Paul 
Lukas  is  excellent.  Nancy  Carroll  again 
proves  she  has  make-up  of  a  real  comedi- 
enne. Gary  Cooper  puts  over  a  convincing 
characterization."  —  New  York  Evening 
Journal. 

"Nancy  Carroll  and  Gary  Cooper  give  ex- 
pert and  charming  performances  in  'The 
Shopworn  Angel.'  Richard  Wallace  has 
turned  out  a  thoroughly  fresh  and  fasci- 
nating film." — New  York  Sun. 

"Entertaining,  packed  with  audience  ap- 
peal. SO  WELL  HANDLED  THAT  IT 
GOES  DOWN  AS  ADDITION  TO  SEA- 
SON'S GOOD  PICTURES."—  New  York 
Daily  Graphic. 


PARAMOUNT- 


Great  SILENT 
or  in  SOUND 

with  score,  Nancy 
Carroll  singing  and 
ONE  REEL  DIALOG 


all  the  Big  Ones! 


Released  very  soon 


"THE  MELANCHOLY  DAME*" 

First  of  a  series  of  screamingly  funny  talking  comedies 
based  upon  the  famous  Saturday  Evening  Post  stories 
of  Octavus  Roy  Cohen.  Screen  arrangement  by  Alfred 
A.  Cohn. 


"WHEN  CAESAR  RAN  A 

NEWSPAPER"  With  Raymond  Hatton  as 

Caesar,  Sam  Hardy  as  Marc  Antony  and  luscious  Betty 
Lorraine  as  Cleopatra.  From  the  celebrated  travesty  by 
Waldemar  Young  and  William  Jacobs. 


The  Class  Short  Talking 

GOOD  news  for  exhibitors!  Al  and  Charles  Christie,  for 
years  the  leading  quality  short  comedy  producers  of  the 
industry,  now  offer  theatres  a  series  of  de  luxe  2-reel  talking 
plays.  Produced  on  lavish  scale  in  the  Christies'  own  great 
newly  equipped  sound  studio. 

THIRTEEN  releases  between  now  and  July  1st.  Featuring 
such  well  known  stars  as  Raymond  Hatton,  Raymond 
Griffith,  Sam  Hardy,  Lois  Wilson,  Jason  Robards,  Roy  D'Arcy, 
Dot  Farley,  James  Gleason,  Charley  Grape  win  and  many  others. 

PARAMOUNT- 

DeLuxe  2-Reelers 

produced  like 
Feature  Specials 


JtoUowed  by 

"POST  MORTEMS" 

y 

with  Raymond  Griffith 

"MUSIC  HATH  HARMS" 

by  Oetavus  Roy  Cohen 

"MEET  THE  MISSI  S" 

with  James  Gleason,  star  of  stage  "Is  Zat  So!  " 
By  Kenyon  Nicholson,  author  of  "The  Barker" 

and  many  more! 

••A  BIRD  IN  THE  HAND" 

Featuring  Lois  Wilson,  a  revelation  in  talking  pictures! 
With  Jason  Robards  and  Roy  D'Arey.  By  E.  Percy  Heath. 
Played  with  tremendous  success  on  the  speaking  stage. 

Product  of  the  Market! 

TALKING  acts  no  longer  succeed  on  novelty  alone.  The 
public  demands  quality  and  class.  Paramount- Christie 
Talking  Plays  supply  this  as  no  other  product  available  does! 
Produced  with  the  same  lavish  expenditure  of  care,  money 
and  talent  as  feature  pictures  in  sound. 

DISTRIBUTED  by  Paramount.  First  release,  "When  Caesar 
Ran  a  Newspaper",  on  February  9th.  Followed  by  other 
Paramount-Christie  gems  of  entertainment,  all  with  box  office 
headliners  who  can  talk.  See  your  Paramount  salesman  today. 

CHRISTIE 

Talking  Plays 

\ 


♦  LUCKY  BOY  O    ♦  LUCKY  BOY  O    ♦  LUCKY  BQ7TY 

RELEASED  n  JANUARY 


o 

to 


♦I 
c 


♦l 


c 


GEORGE 

JESSEL 


ORICIN/5L  J"T«R 

/Ike  JflZZXIMCER' 

irv 


Drama  of  Mother  Love  and  Sweetheart  Love  and  of  a  Boy's 
Ambition  -  with  George  Jessel  Singing  His  Heart  Out  in 
a  Variety  of  Songs,  Telling  Funny  Stories,  Impersonating 
Great  Actors  and  Amusing  Characters,  Wisecracking  ad  lib. 
as  Only  This  Clever  Star  Can. 

Dialogue  and  Titles  by  George  Jessel 

Directed  by  Norman  Taurog  and  Charles  C.  Wilson 

Sound  Sequences  Produced  Under  the  Supervision 
of  Rudolph  Flot how 

Music  Score  by  Hugo  Riesenfeld 

Theme  Song,  "My  Mother's  Eyes,"  by  L  Wolfe 
Gilbert  and  Abel  Baer 

Published  by  Leo  Feist,  Inc. 

Synchronized  by  RCA  Photophone 


TIFFflNy~</>TdUL 


*  LUCKY  BOY  O     *  LUCKY  BOY  O     *  LUCKY  BOY  * 


TTWW4NY 


The  Greatest  Audience  Picture 
Ever  Made 

A  Leading  Personality  of  the  Theatre — That's 
Jessel!  Lucky  Boy  Brings  Him  to  Screen  Audi- 
ences with  His  Voice -and  What  He  Can 
Do  with  Songs  and  Wit. 

A  Clamorous  Colorful,  Romantic 
Background. 


A  Singing  Chorus  of  60  Beauti- 
ful Girls. 


The  Picture  Every  Ex 
hibitor  Has  Been 
Waiting  For. 


4§S 


k  crj 


irr^iNy-(/>Tfl nl  prqd liction</>  inc. 

BRO^DVflY  NEV  YORK  CITY 


THE  ONLY 
OUND  NEWS  REEL 
THAT  HAS  IT/ 


Variable  Area  Sound  Track  from  PathWsound  News 





Variable  Density  Sound  Track 


Above  are  pictured  sections  of  the  variable  area  sound  track  from  PATHE 
SOUND  NEWS  and  the  variable  density  sound  track.  One  glance  at  these  illus- 
trations will  prove  to  the  man  who  knows  nothing  of  the  technical  problems  of  film 
printing  how  infinitely  superior  the  variable  area  system  is.  There  is  no  necessity 
to  compromise  in  negative  developing,  printing  or  positive  developing  between 
the  light  photograph  and  the  sound  photograph.  The  negative  and  positive  are 
developed  and  printed  for  top  quality.  The  sound  track  automatically  comes 
out  perfectly.  There  can  be  no  loss  of  sound  values  through  over-printing 
or  over-developing. 


That  means  that  even  the  sky  isn't  the  limit  for 

PATHE  SOUND  NEWS! 


It  can  go  anywhere — see  all  and  hear  everything.  The 
"mike"  can  go  where  the  sound  is  and  the  camera  can  go 
where  the  picture  is. 

No  single  camera  carrying  a  double  burden  of  sound  re- 
cording and  photography  devices  to  hamper  it  and  sacrifice 
its  pictorial  quality. 

pathe  SOUND  news  can  operate  any  number  of  picture 
and  sound  cameras  on  the  same  circuit  and  all  sound  record- 
ing is  done  on  separate  and  special  film. 

Photographed  as  it  is  on  a  separate  sound  negative,  when 
pathe  sound  news  reaches  the  cutting  room,  it  can  be  edited 
to  meet  the  elasticity  of  the  Editor's  ideas  and  it  is  not  confined 
to  the  very  rigid  limitations  of  a  single  picture  sound  negative. 

pathe  sound  news  alone  has  the  editorial  flexibility  and 
sound  superiority  of  the  two  negative  system. 


10 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


Again  the  Her ALD-WORLD 
Leads  The  Field  in  1928! 


During  the  past  year  EXHIBITORS 

Herald  -  World  published  the 

largest  volume  of  paid  advertising 
of  any  motion  picture  trade  pub- 
lication. The  following  figures  i 
indicate  the  totals  in  pages: 

Herald-World    .  .  .  2089 

Second  paper    1699 

Third  paper   1293 

Fourth  paper   381 

Fifth  paper   352 


Note:  Th~  Il-srald-World  total  is  exclusive  of  considerable 
advertising  published  elsewhere  but  rejected  here  on  account 
of  financial  instability. 


Such  Recognition  from  the  Industry  Must 
Be — and  Is — Deserved  On  the  Secure  Basis 
of  Enterprise,  Service  and  Dollar  for 

Dollar  Return 


t 

Ooh,  look  -  a  Geepsy ! 
maybe  a  futchun  she'll 
tell,  hah ! 


WHAT  THE  FUTURE 
HOLDS  IN  STORE  FOR 
LEO  AND  YOU 


Start  the  New  Year  right! 
Know  whafs  going  to  happen 

The  greatest  barometer  of  the  days  to 
come  are  days  passed  and  passing* 
That's  why  it's  a  cinch  to  figure  out 
what  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  means 
to  you  in  1929! 


Here's  what  happened  in  1928 


"Our  Dancing  Daughters"  with  Joan  Crawford 
started  the  fun!  And  what  fun!  Everybody  said: 
"Watch  M-G-M!"  And  oh  baby  they  watched  Bill 
Haines  in  "Excess  Baggage";  Lon  Chaney  in  "While 
The  City  Sleeps";  "White  Shadows  in  the  South 
Seas";  Marion  Da  vies  and  William  Haines  in  "Show 
People";  "Dream  of  Love"  with  Joan  Crawford; 
Lon  Chaney  in  "West  of  Zanzibar";  John  Gilbert  in 
"Masks  of  the  Devil"  and  a  lot  more  Big  Ones.  And 
that's  just  the  appetizer!  Wait! 


I 


one  hit  after  another 

It's  been  the  greatest  hit  year  in 
M'Q'M  history 

THE  FIRST  RELEASE  OF 
1929  IS  THE  GIANT  PICTURE 

Clarence  Brown's  production 
of  the  Astor  Theatre  Sensation 

THE  TRAIL  OF 

Metn>GoldwyivMayer's 

Epic  of  the  Klondike  Gold  Rush 

with 

DOLORES  DEL  RIO 

and  a  mighty  box-office  cast 


"THE  TRAIL  OF  '98" 

is  one  of  the  greatest  box- 
office  pictures  ever  made* 
It  has  a  great  story  with 
great  players,  including 


THE  WHITE  HORSE  RAPIDS 

The  tiny  boats  were  tossed  about  like  driftwood  among  the  mountainous  waves  of  the 
rapids  that  tore  along  at  espress  train  speed 


FACTS 

about  "The  Trail  of '98" 

More  than  two  years  in  the  making  at 
a  cost  of  two  million  dollars!  Clarence 
Brown  is  the  director.  An  All-Star 
cast:  Dolores  Del  Rio,  Ralph  Forbes, 
Karl  Dane,  Tully  Marshall,  Harry 
Carey  and  a  host  of  others.  Fifteen 
thousand  extras  appear  in  the  picture, 
more  even  than  "Ben-Hur."  Based 
on  Robert  W.  Service's  famous  novel, 
serialized  in  hundreds  of  newspapers. 
Played  to  capacity  for  months  at  $2 
at  the  Astor,  N.  Y.,  and  at  Grauman's 
Chinese  Theatre,  Los  Angeles.  Hailed 
by  critics  as  the  logical  successor  to 
"The  Big  Parade"  and  "Ben-Hur." 


THE  SNOWSLIDE 

A  thunderous  roar!  Hundreds  of  men,  horses  and  dogs 
lost  as  the  avalanche  buries  them  beneath  tons  ol  snow 


THE  BURNING 
OF  DAWSON 
CITY 

Jt  was  too  wicked 
to  last — the  gold- 
born  e  it  m  is 
purged  of  its  sins 


SOUND 

OR 

SILENT! 


MORE  BIG  SCENES 
THAN  EVER  BEFORE 
IN  ONE  PICTURE! 


THE  GIGANTIC  SNOW  SLIDE 

More  breath-taking  than  the  dividing  of  the  Red  Sea 
in  "Ten  Commandments." 
THE  CHILKOOT  PASS 

A  spectacle  to  be  remembered  with  the  winding  march 
of  heroes  in  "Big  Parade." 

THE  WHITE  HORSE  RAPIDS 

Ranks  for  thrill  and  tenseness  with  the  chariot  race 
in  "Ben-Hur." 

THE  BURNING  OF  DAWSON  CITY 

Showing  the  origin  of  history's  great  disaster,  when 
the  gambler  with  ignited  clothing  sets  fire  to  the  world's 
most  famous  gold  camp. 


Follow  "The  Trail"  to  the  Bank!  to  the  Bank! 


DUNK  THIS  OVER! 


"Vnu're  .  • tlie  •  . 


9  cof  •  •  fec!  * ' 
* 


M-G-M  HAS  COME  THROUGH  WITH 
ONE  BIG  HIT  AFTER  ANOTHER 
SINCE  AUGUST  but  it's  just  part  of 
M-Q-M's  merriest  box'ofjice  party! 

HOORAY!  HOORAY!  THEY'RE  ON  THE  WAY! 


5* 


ALIAS  JIMMY 

VALENTINE 

Starring 

WILLIAM  HAINES 


S.  R.  O.  $2  ASTOR  THEATRE 
TALKING  SENSATION! 

And  More/    Morel    More!    Take  a  look  — 


And  still  the 
-G-M  hits  come— 


RAMON  NOVARRO  in 
THE  FLYING  FLEET 

Absolutely  the  last  word  in  aviation  thrills  with 
handsome  Ramon  in  his  most  romantic  and 
jolliest  role  since  "The  Midshipman."  Great 
either  with  Sound  or  Silent. 


JOHN  GILBERT  in 
THIRST 

The  star  they  all  wanted!  He's  just  signed  again 
with  M-G-M  (of  course!).  And  his  vast  public 
will  flock  to  see  his  new  drama  of  love  and 
thrills!  Equipped  for,Sound — or  Silent! 


GRETA  GARBO  m 
WILD  ORCHIDS 

John  Colton,  author  of  the  stage  success  "Rain" 
has  given  beautiful  Greta  the  most  gripping 
story  she's  ever  appeared  in.  With  Nils  Asther. 
Sound  or  Silent! 


THE  BELLAMY 
TRIAL 

Something  to  cheer  about!  The  Saturday 
Evening  Post  serial!  Directed  by  Monta  Bell! 
The  perfect  TALKING  picture.  A  thriller 
any  way  you  play  it — Sound  or  Silent. 


WILLIAM  HAINES 
THE  DUKE  STEPS  OUT 

Jimmy  Cruze  who  made  "Excess  Baggage"  is 
directing  Bill  Haines  (with  Joan  Crawford)  in 
what  is  destined  to  be  one  of  the  talked  of  pic- 
tures this  year.  Watch  for  a  Big  Shot! 


ONEY— 


"IS  THERE  A  DOCTOR 
IN  THE  AUDIENCE?" 

This  exhibitor  is  overcome! 
He  let  his  opposition  get 
M-G-M  and  he  doesn't  feel 
happy  at  all,  at  alll 


METRO 
MOVIETONE 
ACTS 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  M-G-M 
would  bring  the  much  needed 
Quality  note  into  the  making  of 
these  important  Movietone  subjects. 
Within  a  brief  six  months  M-G-M 
has  built  up  a  library  of  great  box- 
office  numbers  and  now  brings  you 
its  Second  Series  of  Metro  Movie- 
tone Acts.  Three  de  luxe  numbers 
weekly.  Among  the  big  names: 
Van  &.  Schenck,  Vincent  Lopez, 
Miller  &  Lyles,  Ukelele  Ike, 
George  Dewey  Washington,  Odette 
Myrtle  and  many  more. 

WITH  SOUND)  Now  available 
with  Sound — "Our  Gang  "comedies; 
Charlie  Chase  comedies  and  Laurel- 
Hardy  comedies! 


ETTIN  6 — 


OVIES 


Hitch  your  Theatre  to  these  Stars 


RECORDS  SHATTERED 


IN  OLD  ARIZONA 

beating  ALL  PREVIOUS  WEEKS9  business 


CRITERION  nllAAnwAY  FIFTH  AVENUE 

i  Theatre  DnUAIlnAI  Theatre 

Los  Angeles     „     ,  Theatre  Seattle,  Washington 

Portland,  Oregon  y 

The  Talk  of  the  WestC  oast- 


ROUND. 


the 


w  — 

LAST 


THE  FIRST  ALL-TALKING 


with  EDMUND  LOWE  «  DOROTHY  BURGESS 

WARNER  BAXTER 


Truly  the  outstanding  achievement  of 

William  Fox*  Seattle  Post  Intelligencer 

Fox  Films  have  set  a  standard  not  only  for  the  rest  of  the 
industry  but  for  themselves.  —Seattle  Times 

This  picture  excels  all  of  the  promises  made  for 
it  by  the  makers.  —Seattle  Star 

Nothing  excels  it  in  romantic  interest,  novelty  and  picturesque  appeal 

— Portland  News 

Deserves  highest  praise.   Delight  to  sit  through  it  all 

—Portland  Journa 

Unique  in  cinema  annals.  A  thoroughly  entertaining  production 

—  Portland  Oregoniai 


E 


lOVIETONE  talkers 


X 


ml  i 

,  in  TALKING 

'  FEATURES 

FEATURE  FILMEI 

Directed  RAOUL  WALSH  and 
in  Dialog  by    IRVING  CUMMINGS 

■  1 

>  Ol 

Story  a 
Dialog 

JTDOORS 

NA 

"d  TOM  BARRY 

oy 

Wothing  short  of  triumphant.    Best  demonstration  of  the  speaking 

Sireen  ever  put  forth.  —Los  Angeles  Express 

Really  the  first  talkie  to  combine  the  technique 
of  the  screen  and  stage.  Take  my  advice  and  see  it. 

—Los  Angeles  Examiner 

A  surprising  disclosure  of  what  can  be  done  with  a  micro- 
phone in  the  open  air.  ~Los  Angeles  Times 

Destined  to  please  many  audiences  and  to  win  over  new 

converts  for  the  talkies.  —Los  Angeles  Herald 

This  production  is  of  unusual  merit. 

—Los  Angeles  Daily  News 


stalk  RECORDS/ 


THE  SEATTLE  DAILY 


IN  OLD  ARIZONA' 
GREETED  HERE  BY 


People  Stand  in  Line  to  Gam 
Admittance  at  5th  Avenue 
to  See  First  Talking  Out- 
door Picture  Made. 


>  -TTRrHANDISEBS  the  world  over 
MES,vfSi  sought  that  gJWeri 
intanjjible  BQmethJngwhioh  ngm  ca» 

^d-Anzona"  ope** Ij-Jjg 

a-  cap*dtF  >ouf«  bvef^Xs.  itm 

made  wholly  1»  °^™d 
dlOon  to  a  vigorous  ^tory  d/^ 
Henry  and  an  admiraoie  w 
much  to  recommend. 

Baxttr  Ha*  Good  Bole. 
The  Cisco  Kid.  »-«^^\J*22£ 
Warned  K 

Df  tha  same  time  oy  v"  *  ,-„,_lM( 


RECORD 
BREAKING 
BUSINESS 


of 


IN 
OLD 
ARIZONA 


c 

I 

c 

3 

I 

R 
R 
C 


at  the  ^^™^eVitaoonsplcuou* 
stare    This,  yjwng  manias  had 
celv«d  Us  opportunity  aad  made 


the 


"What  Price  Glory,  aPP* 
sergeant  of  a  cavalry.  *■ 
duty  along  the 
type  of « role  t1 
with.  He  is  tb 

man  tovthe  n 

gives  a  perf* 

trifle  broadly 

erally .  admir- 
Dorothy 

tfieicref; 

a  **  r 


N 

c 

at  BROADWAY  Theatre,  Portland,  Ore.  C 

and  FIFTH  AVENUE  Theatre,  Seattle,  Wash.  K 

[both  with  weekly  change  policy} 

compels  transfer  to  other  theatres  ^ 

c 


Now  packing  'em  in  at  the 

HOLLYWOOD  Theatre,  Portland 
and  COLISEUM  Theatre,  Seattle  - ' 


Opens  JANUARY  18th  WARFIELD  .SESSL  ► 
Opens  JANUARY  19th  ROXY 
Opens  JANUARY  20 


THEATRE 
New  York 


ktll  CAPITOL  Theatre,  Hartford,  Conn. 
PALACE  Theatre,  Worcester,  Mass. 
PALACE  Theatre,  Waterbury,  Conn. 
PALACE  Tb'  atre,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
PALACE  Theatre,  Bridgeport,  Conn. 


fp   for  Greater  Prosperity  in  1929  play  j 

MOVIETONE  all-talking  features 


anuary  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


15 


Offwent, 
theroofl 


TT7HEN  that  hard-boiled  bunch  of 
Universal  officials  saw  and 
HEARD  the  first  Oswald  with  SOUND. 
They  came  to  smile  and  stayed  to  roar! 

Silent  Oswald  is  funny.  You'll  agree 
to  that.  Soundie  Oswald  is  a  RIOT — a 
SHRIEK— A  YELL! 

And  now  that  Universal  has  scooped 
the  field  with  synchronized  cartoons,  you 
have  your  opportunity  of  setting  them 
in  for  the  knockout  laugh  feature  of  any 
program.  When  you  play  "Hen  Fruit," 
"'Sick  Cylinders"  or  any  forthcoming 
Oswald  cartoons  with  sound,  only  one 
answer  is  possible— 


OFF  GOES  THE  ROOF! 


the  lucky  Rabbit 

[Winkler  1 
Productions  J 


in  SOUND 

(Two  negatives — one  silent,  one  with  sound) 


niversai  Shorts  are  Super  Snorts/ 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


Sets  new  record 


Samuel  Gold  uj  yn 

^Presents 


V II  LIMA 

BAtNllrW 


in 


Reawakening 


prances  Marion 

with 

Louis  Wolheim 

■  and  • 

Walter  Byron 

VICTOR  FLEMING 

jDroduction 


Says  the  A  merican  of  Miss  Banky's  first 
solo  starring  picture:  "Worth-while  film. 
Miss  Banky  as  gloriously  beautiful  as 
ever  with  a  new  sparkle." 

The  NEWS:  "Miss  Banky  is  a  thing 
of  exquisite  beauty.  Splendid  per- 
formances." 

The  TELEGRAPH:  "Miss  Banky's 
beauty  and  charm  never  seen  to 
greater  advantage.  A  radiant  star." 

EVE.  WORLD:  "A  feature  which  is 
bound  to  prove  popular  to  the  great 
mass  of  movie  fans." 


UNITED  ARTISTS  PICTURES 


January  12,  1929  EXHIBITORS    HERALD -WORLD 

Vrstfour  days? 

at  RIVOLTUNITED  ARTISTS,  New  York 


Crammed  full  of  the  abo.         ^ntioned  tried-and-true  situations.  — Eve.  World. 

The  WORLD:    "Good  enter-    Tke  Gx     PHIC  :  "Miss  Banky  The  TRIBUNE  :  "Miss  Banky 

taxnment.  The  kind  that  seems    more  interesting  and  attractive  '1S  excellent, 
to  be  popular."                             than  ever. 

The    MIRROR:     "Vilma    en-    The  TIMES  :     !A  picture  that  The  JOURNAL:    "Actress  is 

chanting.    It  is   a   beautifully    makes  for  goocr  entertain-  verY  beautiful.    A  handsomely 

made  picture."                               mem."                      ^  mounted  production. 

for  your  success  in  79^9  —  — 


18  EXHIBITORS    HERALD-WORLD  January  12, 


Incorporated 


What  Exhibitor's  Choice  Selling 
means  to  exhibitors 

By  J.  D.  WILLIAMS 

Exhibitor's  Choice  Selling  concedes  to  exhibitors  the 
right  to  think  for  themselves. 

Exhibitor's  Choice  Selling  is  based  on  the  conviction 
that  theatre  owners  know  what  is  good  for  their  own 
business. 

Exhibitors  Choice  Selling  means  that  exhibitors  can 
pick  and  choose  those  of  our  pictures  which  they  believe 
will  make  money  in  their  theatres. 

Exhibitor's  Choice  Selling  means  that  exhibitors  can 
buy  one  or  as  many  pictures  at  a  time  as  they  wish. 

Exhibitor's  Choice  Selling  means  that  exhibitors  can 
see  our  pictures  before  booking  them  if  they  wish. 

Exhibitor's  Choice  Selling  means  that  this  company 
intends  to  play  so  fairly  with  exhibitors  that  it  will  pay 
them  to  help  us  to  succeed. 

Ask  Any  World  Wide  Manager  or  Salesmaffi  at  any 
Educational  Exchange  to  PROVE  [T! 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


19 


These  pictures  now  ready 

for  Exhibitor* s  Choice  Selling 


Woman  in  the  Night 


Paris 


The  Woman  in  White 
Pupal  England 


Moulin  Police 
Paris 

lONEYMOON  ABROAD 

London -Paris 


The  Bondman 
Isle  of  Man -Sicily 


Tommy  Atkins 
Egypt 


pawns  of  Passion 
Pusso  Poland  Frontier 


A  real  night  in  Paris  is  this  notable  picture  "Moulin  Rouge". 
Dupont  (director  of  "Variety")  rented  the  famous  night  resort 
and  entire  beauty  cast  of  its  daring  Revue  for  realism  for  the 
strange  love-triangle  story.  Stars  brilliant  Chekova. 

'A  WOMAN  IN  THE  NIGHT"  amazing  maternity  drama  star- 
ring luscious  Maria  Corda;  romance  of  London  marriage  and 
Southampton  night  actually  produced  where  story's  laid.  Variety's 
London  Critic  says  "Delicate  theme  robustly  handled — 100% 
entertainment."  • 

Warning  "innocent  unmarried  men".  "HONEYMOON  ABROAD" 
Feature  comedy  novelty.  Whoopee  honeymooners  in  London, 
Paris — actually  made  there.  Love  breaks  in  wet  French  filling 
station,  dry  London  fog.  American  star,  director. 


"THE  BONDMAN",  starring  Norman  Kerry,  exteriors  actually 
made  in  the  romantic  Isle  of  Man  and  Sicily,  home  of  the  ven- 
detta, from  Sir  Hall  Caine's  great  novel  of  bitter  hatred  con- 
quered by  love. 

Biggest  ice  thrill  since  W.  D.  E.  Climaxes  "PAWNS  OF  PAS- 
SION" melodrama  actually  made  on  wild  Russian  frontier  and 
artists'  quarter,  Paris.  Brilliant  Olga  Chekova  as  beautiful 
dancer,  hunted  by  men,  until  true  love  triumphs. 

"TOMMY  ATKINS"  made  in  Mankind's  Cradle  of  Romance, 
Egypt!  A  great,  grim,  battle-scarred  fortress;  hundreds  of  wild 
tribesmen;  Battalions  of  British  troops;  a  "Beau  Geste"  story  of 
a  beautiful  girl  and  her  lovers.  That's  "Tommy  Atkins" — fight- 
ing lover.  World  Wide  Picture. 


"The  Woman  in  White",  Blanche  Street  starred  in  Wilkie  Collins*  famous  mystery  romance  of 
the  English  moors.    A   Herbert   Wilcox  Production. 


0w  the  UALF* 


.  .  -  .  You  always  knew  he  was  the  ~W; \ 
biggest  male  star-draw  in  pictures 
....  But— YOU  DONT  KNOW 
NOTHIN'  YET! 


All  these  years  Richard  Barthelmess"  rich  voice  has 
been  buried  treasure.  Now  VITAPHONE  unearths 
this  tremendous  hidden  asset — brings  you  a  Barthel- 
mess so  much  greater  it's  like  discovering  a  NEW 
STAR!  A  voice  so  sensationally  fine  he  could  have 
won  stardom  on  that  alone.  He's  drawn  MILLIONS 
just  to  see  him  ACT .  . .  Now  he'll  draw  MILLIONS 
MORE  just  to  hear  him  TALK  and  play  the  piano. 

You'll  get  TWO  GREAT 
STARS  IN  ONE  when  you  get 

RICHARD 

BARTHELMESS 

WEARY  RIVER 


With  Betty  Compson.  A  Frank  Lloyd 
production.  Screen  version  by  Bradley 
K  ing.  Presented  by  Richard  A.  Rowland. 


I    Ar«*  you  prepared 


V /  u*.  „r  lis. 


D;^.,w»  tVnH.irerc  *»j  Distributors  nf  Amei ica  Inc.  ^~  Will  H.Havs  President 


The 
Independent 
Film  Trade 
Paper 


EXHIBITORS 

H  E  RALD 
WORLD 


Home 
Office: 
407  So.  Dearborn  St. 
Chicago 


IN  THIS  ISSUE  — 

Competition,  not  mergers,  brings  good  pictures,  says  Adolph  Zukor;  President  of  Paramount  predicts 
continued  prosperity  for  industry  as  a  whole  in  1929;  Declares  dialogue  is  here  to  stay  but  believes 
that  motion  pictures  which  merely  copy  stage  plays  will  not  "amount  to  anything";  Says  pictures 
should  be  better  than  ever  this  year. 


COMPLETE  INDEX  TO  CONTENTS 


NEWS 

F  B  O  bars  use  of  word  "talkie"  from  all  official  reference  to  talk- 
ing pictures;  Suggestions  for  new  name  of  dialogue  films  con- 
tinue to  pour  in  to  Herald-World. 

Pathe  wins  first  round  of  fight  to  prevent  censors'  interference 
with  audiens;  Injunction  is  granted  against  New  York  state 
board. 

Girl  manager  of  two  theatres  urges  friendly  counsel  from  sales- 
men; Says  she'd  rather  drop  lease  than  Exhibitors  Herald- World. 

Fox  will  build  seven  more  super-theatres  this  year  in  key  cities; 
Sydney  Cohen  proposes  plan  for  exhibitors  to  cooperate  in  com- 
batting influenza. 


FEATURES 


Service  Talks  by  T.  O.  Service   59 

Los  Angeles  by  Douglas  Hodges   46 

Pictorial  Section    37 

Quick  Reference  Picture  Chart   61 

Letters  from  Readers    66 

Broadway    28 


DEPARTMENTS 


Sound  Pictures   42 

The  Studio    45 

Short  Features    49 

Presentation  Acts    50 

The  Theatre    55 

Classified  Advertising   65 

New  Pictures  .  .    60 

Chicago  Personalities  by  J.  F   74 


ADVERTISEMENTS 

FILM,  SOUND  AND  EQUIPMENT— Metro-GoldwynMayer,  Rob- 
ert Morton  Organ,  Eastman  Kodak,  Educational,  Paramount, 
Tiffany-Stahl,  Pathe,  Fox,  Universal,  United  Artists,  World  Wide 
Pictures,  First  National,  Automatic  Ticket  Register,  Carl  Fenton 
Orchestras,  Inc. 

PRESENTATIONS— Henri  A.  Keates,  Albert  F.  Brown,  Roy 
Dietrich,  Ben  Ross,  Paul  G.  Davis,  Cecil  Davidson,  Ransley 
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22 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS 

H  E  RALD 
WORLD 

Martin  J.  Quigley,  Publisher  &  Editor 

Incorporating  Exhibitors  Herald,  founded  in  1915;  Moving  Pic- 
ture World,  founded  in  1907;  Motography,  founded  in  1909;  and 
The  Film  Index,  founded  in  1909 
Published  Every  Wednesday  by 

Quigley  Publishing  Company 

Publication  Office:  407  So.  Dearborn  St.,  CHICAGO,  U.  S.  A. 
Martin  J.  Quigley,  President 
Edwin  S.  Clifford,  Secretary  George  Clifford,  Asst.  Treasurer 

Member  Audit  Bureau  of  Circulations 
Copyright,  1929,  by  Quigley  Publishing  Company 
All  editorial   and   business  correspondence 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Chicago  office 
Other  publications:    Better  Theatres,  devoted  to  construction,  equipment  and 
operation  of  theatres;  published  every  fourth  week  as  supplement  to  Exhibitors 
Herald- World;  The  Motion  Picture  Almanac,  Pictures  and  Personalities,  pub- 
lished annually;  The  Chicagoan  and  Polo,  Class  publications. 

Whole  Vol.  94,  No.  2    (Vol.  36,  No.  5)    January  12,  1929 


Fair  Play 

MR.  R.  F.  WOODHULL,  president  of  the  Motion  Pic- 
ture Theatre  Owners  of  America,  last  week  issued 
a  statement  in  which  he  reviewed  the  progress  of  the 
organization  during  the  past  year.  He  announced  that, 
"progress  for  the  last  year  has  been  satisfactory  and  safe." 
He  further  stated  that,  "its  record  of  accomplishments  is 
comparable  to  that  of  any  similar  endeavor."  Other  de- 
tails of  the  strengthening  and  development  of  the  organ- 
ization during  the  past  year  were  referred  to. 

Right  up  to  this  point  Mr.  Woodhull's  statement  was 
interesting,  constructive  and  timely.  The  association  has 
been  making  steady  and  even  progress  and  its  future  is 
bright.  A  public  pronouncement  covering  these  points 
was  most  appropriate,  but,  unfortunately,  Mr.  Woodhull 
did  not  stop  there.  Instead,  he  undertook  to  deliver  a 
vigorous  slap  at  the  Allied  States  exhibitors  association 
and  all  of  this  portion  of  his  statement  might  very  much 
better  have  been  left  unsaid. 

If  a  group  of  exhibitors  standing  outside  the  Motion  Pic- 
ture Theatre  Owners  of  America  want  an  association  of 
their  own,  we  see  no  reason  under  the  sun  why  they  should 
not  have  it.  If  Mr.  Woodhull  wants  to  defeat  such  an 
organization  and  strengthen  his  own,  the  course  for  him 
to  take,  it  seems  to  us,  is  to  make  the  service  of  his  organ- 
ization stronger  and  better  so  that  it  will  attract  exhibitors 
who  are  not  members.  Simply  to  attack  the  other  organ- 
ization offers  no  reason  for  members  of  that  organization 
to  abandon  it  and  join  his.  Also,  we  do  not  think  that 
such  a  course  will  have  much  appeal  to  the  many  thou- 
sands of  exhibitors  who  are  now  standing  outside  both  of 
the  organizations. 

Mr.  Woodhull,  among  other  remarks  that  will  be 
strongly  resented  by  the  Allied  States  organization,  charges 
this  latter  association  with  ignoring  the  proven  fact  that 
the  problems  of  this  industry  can  be  settled  within  the 
industry  through  peaceful  negotiations.  Mr.  Woo'dhull 
may  be  right  in  his  charge  but  it  must  be  said  that  as  far 
as  this  statement  goes  he  is  guilty  of  the  same  charge  be- 
cause such  a  statement  can  only  be  regarded  in  the  light 
of  being  anything  but  along  the  line  of  peaceful 
negotiation. 

We  reaffirm  our  position:  The  Allied  States  group,  or 
any  other  group,  have  equal  rights  with  the  Motion  Picture 


Theatre  Owners  of  America  in  the  matter  of  organizing 
along  such  lines  and  in  such  ways  as  they  may  deem  fit 
and  proper.  To  contend  against  this  is  a  course  that  will 
reflect  no  credit  upon  the  industry  or  any  part  of  it. 

Both  the  M.  P.  T.  O.  A.  and  the  Allied  States  organiza- 
tion will  flourish  only  in  so  far  as  they  render  good  and 
valuable  service  to  their  members.  Competition  among 
these  organizations  should  be  on  the  basis  of  service  and 
not  mud-slinging. 

*  •  * 

Insuring  the  Future 

BEHIND  the  name  hunt  for  a  suitable  term  with  which 
to  describe  talking  motion  pictures  there  is  a  pressing 
necessity  which  does  not  seem  to  "be  recognized  in  various 
quarters  in  the  industry.  As  is  usually  the  case,  the  keen- 
est— and  most  successful  executives — are  quite  aware  that 
if  such  a  term  as  "talkies"  comes  to  be  saddled  upon  the 
talking  motion  picture  this  new  form  of  expression  will  go 
through  its  life  under  a  severe  and  expensive  handicap. 
But  many  of  the  others  are  content  now  to  do  nothing  and 
to  try  nothing,  having  either  no  constructive  ideas  or  else 
believing,  weakly,  that  no  suitable  term  can  be  popular- 
ized. 

Brand  names  attached  to  a  product  that  necessarily  is 
varying  in  quality  has  always  been  held  by  competent  ex- 
perts to  be  a  dangerous  course.  But  the  right  name  for 
talking  motion  pictures  would  not  in  any  sense  be  a  brand 
name;  it  would  be  a  name  that  would  be  attached  to  an 
entire  classification  of  pictures.  Brand  name9  come  into 
disfavor  when  they  are  associated  with  an  inferior  product. 
This  same  principle  could  not  work  to  the  disadvantage  of 
talking  motion  pictures  unless  the  entire  classification  of 
talking  motion  pictures  proved  to  be  inferior  product.  If 
this,  unfortunately,  should  transpire  it  would  make  no  dif- 
ference what  they  would  be  called;  their  early  demise 
would  be  in  the  cards. 

The  motion  picture  industry,  despite  its  intimacy  with 
the  public,  has  not  and  does  not  give  adequate  attention  to 
matters  relative  to  forming  and  directing  public  opinion. 
In  a  great  number  of  the  most  successful  industries  when 
a  new  important  line  of  product  is  brought  out  an  effort 
immediately  is  made  to  identify  such  product  by  name. 
Such  effort  is  then  followed  by  the  adoption  of  ways  and 
means  of  getting  the  new  product,  under  its  new  name, 
definitely  and  favorably  into  the  consciousness  of  the 
public. 

These  are  the  object  lessons  which  the  motion  picture 
industry  at  this  time  should  study  and  act  upon,  and  may 
do  so  with  assurance  that  in  such  ways  they  will  be  ad- 
vancing and  insuring  the  future  of  the  talking  motion 
picture. 

*  *  » 

MUSICIANS  who  are  thrown  out  of  work  by  the  intro- 
duction of  sound  devices  create  a  trying  problem, 
but  one  which  is  in  no  wise  new.  Since  the  earliest  me- 
chanical developments  it  has  been  the  same  story;  the 
mechanical  inventiveness  of  man  first  results  in  a  hardship 
to  certain  affected  labor,  but  the  outcome  in  the  long  run 
is  a  general  betterment  of  conditions  for  all  mankind. 

The  limiting  of  the  employment  of  musicians  in  thea- 
tres must  lead,  as  similar  instances  previously  always  have 
led,  to  the  absorption  elsewhere  of  the  labor  that  is  now 
being  displaced.  Exhibitors  who  are  wrestling  with  the 
problem  are  entitled  to  realize  that  the  problem  is  not  a 
new  one  and  that  with  every  mechanical  advance  certain 
groups  are  thrown  out  of  their  accustomed  employment. 
But,  inevitably,  in  the  long  run  they  are  absorbed  else- 
where either  in  their  former  work  or  in  some  new  work 
that  new  conditions  call  for. 

—MARTIN  J.  QUIGLEY. 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


23 


"The  word  'talkie'  will  no  longer  be  tolerated  by  official  reference  among  members  of  this  or- 
ganization."  (See  audien  campaign  story  starting  on  page  29.) 

—Says  WILLIAM  LE  BARON, 
General  manager  of  production  and  vice  president  of  F  B  O. 


Competition,  Not  Mergers, 
Brings  Good  Films:  Zukor 

Predicts  Continued  Prosperity 
For  Industry  as  Whole  in  1929 


ADOLPH 
ZUKOR 

Says— 

"Individual  prosperity  will  depend 
this  year,  as  always,  on  the  quality 
of  the  pictures  produced  during  the 
year  by  the  various  companies,  and 
shown  by  the  different  theatres." 

*  *  * 

"The  drama  will  come  back.  It 
will  not  disappear.  It  will  not  be 
crushed  by  the  competition  of  mo- 
tion pictures  for  I  am  satisfied  that 
motion  pictures  that  are  simply 
copies  of  stage  plays  will  not  be  good 
enough  to  amount  to  anything.  We 
are  in  different  fields  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  both  of  us  should  not  be 
eminently  successful." 

*  *  * 

"The  figures  for  last  year  showed 
that  the  industry  had  a  good  year. 
Attendance  at  our  theatres  showed  a 
normal  increase.  In  other  words,  we 
have  not  lost  touch  with  the  public." 

"Pictures  should  be  better  this 
year  than  ever  before.  We  have  had 
experience  and  we  have  learned." 

*  *  * 

"I  like  to  see  strong  companies  in 
competition.  I  don't  like  to  see  them 
joined  together  and  made  fewer.  I 
don't  see  where  great  amalgamations 
help  the  industries,  where  they  help 
the  companies,  or  where  they  help 
the  public.  Competition  makes  good 
pictures  and  good  pictures  provide 
attendance." 

I    t  t 

"Thougjh  I  am  firmly  convinced 
that  dialogue  is  hcre  to  stay,  a  defi- 
nite part  and  parcel  of  pictui^  .equip- 
ment, I  hesitate  to  state  a  definite 
opinion  ...  I  am  not  satisfied  with 
talking  pictures  that  are  merely 
novelties.  The  day  of  the  novelty 
has  not  passed,  because  every  new- 
installation  in  every  new  city  opens 
a  brand-new  field,  but  even  so  I  am 
not  satisfied  just  to  give  sound,  or 
talk.  We  must  improve  and  solidify 
our  position." 


Declares  Dialogue  Here  to  Stay — Believes  Pictures  Just 
Copying  Stage  Plays  Unsuccessful 

By  Peter  Vischer 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8. — The  motion  picture  industry  will  enjoy  continued 
prosperity  through  1929,  in  the  unqualified  opinion  of  Adolph  Zukor, 
president  of  the  vast  Paramount  organization,  so  long  a  barometer  of 

business. 

In  his  panelled  office  high  in  the  towering  Paramount  Building,  with 
the  warmth  of  a  brilliant  winter  sun  streaming  through  the  leaded  win- 
dows, Zukor  discussed  the  future  in  terms  of  the  past  in  an  exclusive  inter- 
view for  the  Herald-World,  his  first  personal  message  to  the  trade  in 
a  year. 

"The  industry  as  a  whole  will  be  prosperous,"  he  said.  He  slid  for- 
ward in  his  chair  and  perched  himself  on  its  edge  as  he  grew  interested  and 
enthusiastic.  Which  company  will  profit  most,  which  theatre,  which  in- 
dividual, is  a  matter  for  circumstances  to  decide. 

"Each  year  we  all  of  us  get  some  share  of  the  general  pros- 
perity. Sometimes  we  get  more,  sometimes  we  get  less.  Sometimes 
this  company  leads,  sometimes  another.  Individual  prosperity 
will  depend  this  year,  as  always,  on  the  quality  of  the  pictures 
produced  during  the  year  by  the  various  companies,  and  shown 
by  the  different  theatres. 

"In  the  motion  picture  industry,  quality  and  revenue  are 
brothers.    They  go  hand  in  hand." 
Zukor  based  his  prediction  of  prosperity,  in  a  measure,  on  the  success 
achieved  during  1928. 

"We  have  a  yardstick  by  which  we  can  measure  success  in  our  indus- 
try," he  said,  "and  that  yardstick  is  attendance.  The  figures  for  last  year 
showed  that  the  industry  had  a  good  year.  Attendance  at  our  theatres 
showed  a  normal  increase.  In  other  words,  we  have  not  lost  touch  with 
the  public.  The  public  is  still  interested  in  motion  pictures  and  is  still 
willing  to  go  and  see  good  pictures." 

Zukor  talked  with  engaging  frankness.    He  met  every  question  without 
evasion,  without  quibbling.     He  made  each  answer  fully,  generally  in 
terms  clear  and  refreshing.    Obviously,  he  was  full  of  his  subject,  testi- 
mony of  his  active  interest  in  the  industry  and  its  work,  of  course  no  sur- 
prise in  view  of  his  long  and  continuous  and  highly  successful  service. 
"Pictures  should  be  better  this  year  than  ever  before.  We 
have  had  experiences  and  we  have  learned.     Each  company  is 
reaching  out  for  better  stories,  better  players,  better  directors, 
better  pictures.    They  are  in  keen  competition  with  each  other, 
and  the*°  things  taken  together  testify  to  the  health  of  the 
industry.  ' 

"The  industry  will  always  need  keen  competition — not  unfair  com- 


/ 


24 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


petition,  not  unethical  competition,  but  keen  competition.  I  like  to  see 
strong  companies  in  competition.  I  don't  like  to  see  them  joined  together 
and  made  fewer.  I  don't  see  where  great  amalgamations  help  the  indus- 
try, where  they  help  the  companies,  or  where  they  help  the  public.  Com- 
petition makes  good  pictures  and  good  pictures  provide  attendance. 

"I  have  just  come  back  from  Hollywood  and  have  seen  and  heard  a 
great  deal  about  pictures  with  dialogue,  about  'talkies.'  Though  I  am 
firmly  convinced  that  dialogue  is  here  to  stay,  a  definite  part  and  parcel 
of  picture  equipment,  I  hesitate  to  state  a  definite  opinion.  Opinions, 
during  this  present  state  of  flux,  change  from  day  to  day.  Our  actions 
have  to  be  determined,  to  a  large  extent,  by  what  we  learn  as  we  go  along. 

"This  much  I  know.  We  shall  use  dialogue  as  we  use  any  other  device 
for  the  production  of  good  pictures,  not  more.  When  we  get  a  situation 
that  seems  suited  to  dialogue,  then  we  shall  use  it.  When  we  get  a  situa- 
tion obviously  made  for  silent  pictures,  then  we  shall  not  strain  to  insert 
dialogue.  We  must  not  forget  the  importance  of  relaxation  in  motion 
picture  entertainment. 

"W e  are  determined  to  go  slowly.  Whereas  we  used  to  try  and 
lay  out  a  year's  program  ahead  of  time,  now  we  shall  be  content 
with  planning  two  or  three  months  ahead.  Much  can  happen 
and  we  are  eager  enough  to  improve  the  quality  of  our  product 
to  want  things  to  happen. 

"I  am  not  satisfied  with  talking  pictures  that  are  merely  novelties.  The 
day  of  the  novelty  has  not  passed,  because  every  new  installation  of  sound 
equipment  in  every  new  city  opens  a  brand-new  field,  but  even  so  I  am 
not  satisfied  just  to  give  sound,  or  talk.  We  must  improve  and  solidify 
our  position." 

Zukor  said  he  was  not  surprised  to  hear  that  some  audiences  through 
the  country  are  already  tiring  of  sound  pictures.  He  reiterated  the  point 
that  pictures  must  be  good  no  matter  what  devices  they  employ.  He  said 
that  he  personally,  along  with  other  motion  picture  theatregoers,  would  far 
rather  see  a  good  silent  picture  than  a  bad  sound  picture. 

I  asked  Zukor  if  the  motion  picture  industry  felt  any  antagonism  toward 
the  legitimate  stage,  if  the  film  industry  felt  an  elation  over  the  dog-days 
of  the  drama,  any  sense  of  having  scored  a  victory. 

"We  bear  no  ill  will  toward  the  legitimate  stage  and  do  not  in  any  way 
feel  a  sense  of  victory,"  he  said.  "In  fact,  those  of  us  who  have  been 
through  the  mill  see  no  reason  why  the  drama  should  be  so  frightfully 
concerned  over  its  present  unhappy  state. 

"The  drama  is  now  going  through  a  period  of  depression  that  hit  us 
sooner  and  left  us  quicker.  It  is  not  extraordinary  to  come  upon  a  whole 
series  of  ordinary  plays,  whether  on  the  stage  or  on  the  screen.  Somehow 
it  happens  that  you  reach  a  period  when  nothing  turns  out  well,  when 
results  are  mediocre,  unimportant,  uninteresting.  And  then,  curiously, 
when  things  look  blackest,  one  or  two  smashing  good  things  will  come 
along  and  lift  the  whole  level  with  it. 

"The  drama  will  come  back.  It  will  not  disappear.  It  will  not 
be  crushed  by  the  competition  of  motion  pictures,  for  I  am  satis- 
fied that  motion  pictures  that  are  simply  copies  of  stage  plays  ivill 
not  be  good  enough  to  amount  to  anything.  We  are  in  different 
fields  and  there  is  no  reason  why  both  of  us  should  not  be  emi- 
nently sucessful." 

Zukor's  manner  was  doubly  enthusiastic.  First,  he  seemed  roused  over 
the  promise  of  success  through  1929.  Second,  he  seemed  -lore  than 
energetic  over  the  prospect  that  success  will  not  be  too  en^ily  achieved, 
that  obstacles  lie  in  the  road  and  that  the  situation  is  interesting  enough 
and  promising  enough  to  threaten  day  to  day  changes. 


ADOLPH  ZUKOR 

Radio  Pictures  Is 
Tentative  Name 
For  FBO  Product 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— FBO's  new  promi- 
nence in  the  industry  is  to  be  celebrated  by  a 
change  in  the  name  of  the  company's  product. 
Radio  Pictures  is  the  name  tentatively  se- 
lected, with  distribution  to  be  provided  by  the 
Radio-Keith-Orpheum  organization,  if  certain 
legal  aspects  of  the  situation  now  under  con- 
sideration are  properly  ironed  out.  Whatever 
the  new  name  of  F  B  O  Pictures  is  to  be,  an 
announcement  of  unusual  importance  may  be 
expected  soon. 


Executives  in  Chicago 
On  Way  East  from  Coast 

A  party  of  executives  from  leading  pro- 
ducing and  distributing  companies  were  in 
Chicago,  Monday  January  7,  en  route  East 
from  the  West  Coast. 

In  the  party  were  Winfield  Sheehan,  vice 
president  and  general  manager  of  Fox  Film 
Corporation ;  Joseph  M.  Schenck,  president 
of  United  Artists;  John  Considine,  Jr.,  pro- 
ducer for  United  Artists;  D.  W.  Griffith, 
producer  and  director,  and  Major  John 
Zanft,  general  manager  of  the  Fox  Theatres 
Corporation. 

Sheehan  in  New  York  to 
Confer  on  '29-'30  Product 

(Special  t»  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Winfield  Sheehan, 
vice  president  and  general  manager  of  Fox 
Film  Corporation,  arrived  in  New  York  to- 
day for  a  three  weeks  visit  during  which 
time  plans  for  the  1929-30  productions  will 
be  considered. 


French  President  Chooses  M  G  M  Films 

NEW  YORK. — Gaston  Douraergue,  president  of 
France,  selected  HGM  pictures  for  showing  at  his 
annual  Christmas  show.  "A  Trail  of  "98"  and  "The 
Cameraman"  were  the  pictures. 


January  12.  1929 


EXHIBITORS    H  ERA LD- WORLD 


25 


Variety 
Analyzes 

The  Trade  Papers 


FROM  time  to  time  "Variety,''  a  show- 
business  publication,  undertakes  a  criti- 
cal analysis  of  the  motion  picture  trade 
papers.  Like  much  of  the  general  text  of 
"Variety,"  various  of  these  analyses  are 
amusing  but,  consistently  with  the  policy 
of  the  publication,  they  do  not  trouble 
themselves  with  the  little  matter  of  facts. 
We  do  not  suggest  that  particularly  in  the 
case  of  contemporary  publications  "Variety" 
maliciously,  or  even  deliberately,  misrepre- 
sents or  distorts  truth;  it  is  simply  a  case 
in  which  general  unfamiliarity  with  the 
habits  of  truth-telling  is  the  normal  order 
of  the  day. 

In  a  recent  issue  "Variety"  published  the 
latest  analyses  in  the  series.  In  this  the 
merger  of  Exhibitors  Herald  and  "Mov- 
ing Picture  World"  was  discussed  and  sev- 
eral erroneous  conclusions  arrived  at.  We 
shall  not  trouble  ourselves  to  attempt  to 
correct  these  conclusions,  first,  because 
mention  of  a  mis-statement  in  "Variety" 
would  have  the  originality  and  infrequency 
of  the  greeting,  "Merry  Christmas";  sec- 
ondly, "Variety"  is  suspected  of  having  been 
so  long  inured  to  the  practices  of  the  mailed 
fist  school  of  journalism  that  even  the 
terms  of  the  business  in  which  we  are  en- 
gaged would  sound  to  its  managers  as  a 
foreign  tongue. 

Mr.  Sime  Silverman,  publisher  of 
"Variety,"  is  commonly  and  widely  held  by 
those  who  know  him  best  as  a  great  guy. 
On  this  point  it  has  not  been  our  privilege 
to  share  an  intimacy  which  would  enable 
us  either  to  agree  or  disagree;  but  the  ob- 
servation asserts  itself  that  to  be  able  to  put 
up  with  what  his  publication  technically 
would  call  the  mob  he  has  around  him — 
he  must  be. 

"Variety's"  estimate  of  itself  as  pub- 
lished in  the  above-mentioned  analysis  is  as 
follows : 

Variety 

Variety  probably  remains  about  the  same,  a 
mixed  sheet  trying  to  cover  all  of  the  show  business, 
with  the  chances  it  is  making  a  bum  of  itself  try- 
ing. Its  hook-up  is  very  heavy,  and  though  selling  at 
25c  on  the  stands,  this  paper  is  far  less  prosperous 
than  it  looks  some  weeks. 

Variety's  sloppy  way  of  writing  and  printing  is 
likely  a  laugh  to  those  who  know,  but  no  way  has 
been  discovered  to  rectify  its  faults.  The  latter  must 
be  plenty  to  newspaper  men  if  they  ever  read 
Variety,  for  those  in  Variety's  offices  can  see  100 
holes  in  the  sheet  every  time  it  comes  out.  So  this 
paper  continues  as  the  same  terrible  exhibit  of  news- 
paper work  it  always  has  been. 

M.  J.  Q. 


Theatre  Fire's  Final  Toll 
21  Buildings  and  $100,000 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HALIFAX,  Jan.  8. — Fire  starting  near 
the  furnace  of  the  motion  picture  theatre 
at  Joggin  Mines,  Xova  Scotia,  owned  by 
F.  J.  Burke,  was  not  subdued  until  21  build- 
ings had  been  destroyed.  The  loss  is  $100,- 
000.  Burned  structures  included  the  thea- 
tre, a  church,  hotel,  school,  stores  and  12 
residences. 


Pathe  Wins  Round  in  Fight  to 
Keep  Censors  off  Talking  Films 

Injunction  Granted  by  New  York  Supreme  Court  Restraining  Board 
from  Invalidating  Licenses  for  "Sal  of  Singapore" 
— Test  Case,  Says  Colvin  Brown 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
XEW  YORK,  Jan.  8. — Pathe  has  gone  to  court  to  prevent  the  censors  of 
Xew  York  state  from  interfering  with  dialogue  in  motion  pictures  that  talk. 
The  Supreme  Court  yesterday  granted  a  temporary  injunction  restraining  the 
Xew  York  board  of  censors  from  invalidating  or  revoking  licenses  for  the  sound 
and  dialogue  version  of  "Sal  of  Singapore." 

"Sal  of  Singapore"  was  released  January  4.    The  silent  version  of  the  picture 
was  passed  without  deletion  or  change.    Pathe  did  not  submit  for  censorship 
the  sound  record  accompanying  the  film. 
Colvin  W.  Brown,  executive  vice  president     speech.  The  requested  licenses  were  issued 


of  Pathe,  said  that  the  suit  was  brought 
for  the  single  purpose  of  clarifying  the 
situation.  Students  of  the  industry  recalled, 
however,  that  Pathe  has  long  been  in  the 
fortfront  in  combatting  censorship,  began 
the  fight  that  freed  news  reels  from  cen- 
sorship interference,  and  won  important 
legal  actions  in  Xew  York  and  Ohio. 

That  an  important  issue  is  in  the  bal- 
ance is  recognized  and  Pathe  has  received 
congratulations  for  its  important  and  ag- 
gressive step,  which  is  expected  to  result 
in  a  decision  beneficial  to  the  entire  busi- 
ness. 

Writ  Obtained 

The  injunction  against  James  Wingate, 
director  of  the  Motion  Picture  Division  of 
the  Xew  York  State  Education  Department, 
the  Board  of  Regents  and  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Education,  was  obtained  by  Cou- 
dert  Brothers,  attorneys  for  Pathe,  return- 
able yesterday. 

Pathe  states  that  on  October  11  appli- 
cation was  made  to  the  director  of  the 
Motion  Picture  Division  for  Licenses  to 
exhibit  one  original  and  four  duplicate 
prints  of  "Sal  of  Singapore."  This  silent 
version  was  reviewed  and  upon  receiving  a 
rating  of  100  per  cent  was  licensed  by  the 
censor  board.  Subsequently,  dialogue  se- 
quences and  musical  synchronization  were 
recorded  for  this  Phyllis  Haver  vehicle. 
The  making  of  the  sound  recordings  did 
not  involve  any  change  of  the  pictorial 
matter. 

Limited  Licenses  Given 

On  Xovember  2,  Pathe  made  application 
for  additional  licenses  for  six  duplicates  of 
"Sal  of  Singapore."  The  sounds,  music  and 
words  recorded  were  not  submitted,  as 
there  is  nothing  in  the  law,  by  inference 
or   suggestion,   as    to    the    censorship  of 


F  B  O  Director  in  Hospital 
NEW  YORK. — Basil   Smith,   assistant  director  to 
Bert  Glennon,  is  in  the   hospital   suffering  from  a 
nervous  collapse.     James   Sevmour,  casting  director, 
is  replacing  Smith  temporarily. 


Theatre  Inserts  Titles 
In  Two  Languages 


(Special 


the  Hesald-Wor'J) 


MONTREAL,  Jan.  8.— Bilingual 
titles  made  their  appearance  in  sound 
productions  here  last  week,  when  they 
were  introduced  at  the  Capitol  the- 
atre by  Manager  Harry  Dahn  with 
the  presentation  of  "A  Woman  of 
Affairs."  Titles  were  in  both  English 
and  French  to  meet  Quebec  legal  re- 
quirements and  also  to  cater  to  the 
immense  French  population  of  Mon- 
treal. Manager  Dahn  announced  that 
arrangements  had  been  made,  at  con- 
siderable expense,  to  have  bilingual 
titles  in  all  sound  features  at  the  Cap- 
itol. Since  September  1,  the  French- 
speaking  people  had  been  struggling 
with  English  titles,  and  it  was  said 
that  they  were  thus  learning  English. 


with  the  following  words  stamped  upon 
their  face: 

"This  license  is  invalid  when  the  film  or 
any  part  thereof  is  used  in  conjunction 
with  any  mechanical  devices  for  the  repro- 
duction of  sound  or  by  the  use  of  persons 
for  the  utterance  of  language." 

Pathe  directed  the  attention  of  Wingate 
on  December  12  to  the  fact  that  there  is 
nothing  in  the  law  empowering  him,  or  his 
department  to  issue  limited  or  restricted 
licenses  for  the  exhibition  of  any  films,  that 
the  obligation  to  issue  unrestricted  licenses 
for  all  films,  except  those  found  to  be  ob- 
scene, indecent,  immoral,  inhuman,  sacri- 
legious or  of  a  character  tending  to  cor- 
rupt morals  or  incite  to  crime,  was  man- 
datory. Pathe  held  this  action  was  unsound 
in  law  and  an  arbitrary  assumption  of 
power. 

Lewis  Innerarity,  secretary  of  Pathe,  em- 
phasized the  absurdity  of  this  ruling. 

Bill  Broadening  Powers 
of  Censors  Is  Expected 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

ALBAXY,  Jan.  8. — The  question  of  how 
far  a  censoring  body  can  go  under  the  law 
which  created  the  censoring  commission  of 
Xew  York  State  and  outlined  its  duties,  in 
passing  final  word  on  sound  pictures,  has 
been  a  subject  of  considerable  discussion  at 
the  state  capitol  in  Albany  during  the  past 
few  weeks,  and  fresh  impetus  has  been 
given  by  the  Pathe  case.  It  is  understood 
that  a  bill  is  to  be  drafted  in  the  near  fu- 
ture, and  which  will  be  introduced  in  the 
Legislature,  broadening  the  powers  of  the 
Xew  York  State  motion  picture  commis- 
sion insofar  as  talking  and  sound  pictures 
are  concerned. 

Kansas  Board  May  Get 
Device  for  Censoring  Sound 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

KANSAS  CITY,  KAN.,  Jan.  8.— The 
Kansas  State  censor  board  would  become 
censors  of  the  spoken  word,  now  that  the 
board  has  moved  into  its  new  headquarters. 
Miss  Emma  Yiets,  chairman  of  the  board, 
announced. 

If  the  funds  will  permit,  a  small  sound 
device  synchronized  with  the  films  will  be 
installed. 

Xo  sooner  had  the  Kansas  censor  board 
made  its  announcement  concerning  the 
censoring  of  talkies  than  the  Kansas  City 
Star  came  forth  with  an  editorial  in  which 
the  writer  stated: 

"As  if  the  talkies  did  not  already  have 
enough  to  worry  about,  along  comes  the 
Kansas  state  board  of  review  and  proposes 
to  censor  the  spoken  word  as  well  as  the 
scenes  upon  the  screen.  ...  It  might  per- 
haps be  spared  the  complexities  of  being 
subject  to  the  whims  of  an  appointive  board 
as  to  whether  the  words  which  pour  forth 
in  synchronization  with  the  film  should  be 
listened  to  by  the  impressionable  public." 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12, 


LEADERSHIP 


HE  Exhibitors  Herald-World  carried  approximately  400  pages 


of  advertising  more  than  its  nearest  competitor  in  1928.  Of 
every  dollar  spent  in  the  five  national  motion  picture  trade  papers 
during  1928,  approximately  42  cents  was  spent  in  the  HERALD- 
WORLD.  This  overwhelming  vote  of  confidence  for  the  HERALD- 
WORLD  was  in  almost  every  instance  the  result  of  thorough  tests 
and  investigation — surveys  conducted  by  the  advertiser  or  his 
advertising  agency,  questionnaires  sent  to  representative  people  in 
all  divisions  of  the  trade  and  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  a  care- 
ful checkup  of  direct  results,  particularly  the  use  of  coupons  in 
advertisements. 


During  the  year,  the  HERALD-WORLD  was  the  only  motion 
picture  trade  paper  receiving  the  full  and  complete  advertising 
schedule  of  every  motion  picture  distributing  company  of  impor- 
tance. 


"Better  Theatres",  the  section  of  the  HERALD-WORLD  issued 
every  fourth  week  and  devoted  to  theatre  construction,  operation, 
decoration,  and  equipment,  carried  from  issue  to  issue  throughout 
the  year  from  25  to  40  per  cent  more  advertising  than  its  nearest 
competitor. 


In  advertising  placed  by  individuals — screen  and  presentation  artists 
—the  HERALD-WORLD  easily  led  all  competitors.  In  Presenta- 
tion advertising,  a  class  of  advertising  to  which  direct  results  can  be 
readily  traced,  the  HERALD-WORLD  led  by  a  wide  margin. 


Motion  Pictures 


Individual 


January  12,  1929  EXHIBITORS    HERALD-WORLD  27 

HOW  AND  WHY 


Classified  Advertising 


In  the  three  years  since  this  department  was  started,  the  HERALD- 
WORLD  has  become  the  recognized  "classified  advertising  medium" 
in  the  motion  picture  field.  During  the  year  of  1928,  it  carried  in 
excess  of  three  times  the  number  of  these  advertisements  printed  by 
all  of  its  competitors  combined. 


Constructive  Policy 


Advertisers  like  the  HERALD-WORLD  way  of  doing  business. 
Its  only  advertising  rates  are  those  printed  on  its  rate  cards — no 
favoritism,  no  trick  offers,  no  bargaining.  Its  only  method  of  selling 
is  on  the  basis  of  merit.  It  does  not  resort  either  to  attempting 
to  "pressure"  advertising  into  its  pages  or  enlisting  outside  assis- 
tance to  "pressure"  advertisers. 


Proven  Circulation 


The  HERALD-WORLD  gives  a  full  accounting  to  its  adver- 
tisers for  every  dollar  accepted.  It  is  a  member  of  the  Audit 
Bureau  of  Circulations  ( the  only  member  in  the  motion  pic- 
ture field )  and  furnishes  audited  circulation  statements  twice 
each  year. 


The  Herald-World  Leads! 


28 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


17ie  Thousand  Mark 

ON  the  first  of  the  year,  Western  Electric 
passed  the  thousand  mark  in  the  num- 
ber of  its  sound  installations.  This  is  a 
record  that  defies  criticism  and  compels  ad- 
miration. 

Practically  every  part  of  the  country  now 
has  theatres  equipped  for  the  showing  of 
sound  pictures.  There  are  few  patrons  of 
motion  pictures  who  have  not  had  the  op- 
portunity to  inspect  the  newest  product  of 
motion  picture  development,  to  form  a  first- 
hand opinion. 

The  list  of  theatres  equipped  for  sound 
showings,  as  published  first  in  the  Herald- 
World,  was  a  most  astonishing  one  and 
laid  to  rest  many  rumors  floating  through 
the  industry.  Small  theatres  had  their 
share  of  sound  equipment,  along  with  the 
large.  Charges  that  Western  Electric,  a 
huge  organization,  was  interested  only  in 
other  mammoth  organizations  were  thus 
proved  thoroughly  false. 

Opinion  through  the  industry  in  regard 
to  Western  Electric  has  changed  consider- 
ably through  recent  weeks.  Worries  that 
the  "electrical  monster"  was  going  to  de- 
vour the  motion  picture  industry  seem  to 
have  been  given  an  indecent  burial,  just 
what  they  deserved. 

Western  Electric's  record  in  the  motion 
picture  industry  has  so  far  been  a  highly 
honorable  one. 

*  *  * 

Fox  Theatres 

DUMORS,  familiar  rumors,  that  William 
Fox  is  to  build  a  forty  or  sixty  or 
eighty  story  theatre  on  Broadway  are 
again  being  heard.  The  building  is  to  go 
up  on  the  southwest  corner  of  47th  Street 
and  Broadway,  just  where  it  can  best  be 
seen  by  all  the  members  of  the  Motion  Pic- 
ture Club. 

The  fact  of  the  matter  is  that  Fox  is 
considering  a  huge  theatre  on  that  site. 
Whether  his  plans  will  go  through  or  not 
depends  on  many  circumstances.  Just  how 
his  plans  are  progressing  no  one  knows,  for 
Fox  long  ago  learned  not  to  say  anything 
about  his  projects  until  the  last  name  was 
blotted  on  the  dotted  line. 

In  other  words,  if  all  goes  well  there 
will  probably  be  a  great  new  Fox  theatre 
on  Broadway.  If  it  doesn't  go  well,  if 
someone  wants  a  little  more  than  Fox  is 
willing  to  give,  then  there  are  other  things 
that  might  be  done  with  all  that  Fox  money. 

*  *  * 

Georgie  Jessel 

'TT  FFANY-STAHL  gave  a  highly  spec- 
tacular  private  showing  of  Georgie  Jes- 
sel in  "Lucky  Boy"  at  the  Embassy  thea- 
tre. At  11  o'clock  on  a  Friday  morning  the 
house  was  packed. 

Jessel  soon  proved  himself  to  be  a  real 
acquisition  to  sound  pictures.  His  voice 
registered  admirably  and  his  manner  of 
presenting  his  familiar  songs  was  made  for 
the  new  order  of  pictures.  He  was  given  a 
highly  enthusiastic  reception. 

"Lucky  Boy"  will  be  a  box  office  hit. 
It  has  all  the  elements  that  go  together  for 
an  old-fashioned  success. 

Jessel  got  into  talking  pictures  late,  but 
he's  apparently  making  up  for  lost  time. 

—PETER  VISCHER. 


Paramount  Signs  Harry  Green 

HOLLYWOOD. — Paramount  has  signed  Harry 
Green,  vaudeville  and  stage  star  and  owner  of  the 
Lyric  theatre  in  London,  to  appear  in  "Close  Har- 
mony," all-dialogue  picture. 


Two  New  Columbia  Pictures 


TWO  scenes  are 
shown  here  from 
Columbia's  recently 
completed  drama, 
"The  Faker,"  in 
which  Jacqueline 
Logan  is  starred, 
with  Warner  Oland 
and  Charles  E.  De- 
laney  in  supporting 
roles. 


TWO  scenes  are 
also  shown  be- 
low from  "Behind 
Closed  Doors,"  an- 
other new  Colum- 
bia drama  just 
completed  in  which 
Virginia  Valli  and 
Gaston  Glass  have 
the  leading  roles. 


Warner  Oland  in  "The  Faker" 


Jacqueline  Logan  and  Charles  E.  Delaney 
in  "The  Faker." 


Gaston  Glass  and  Virginia  Valli  in  "Be- 
hind Closed  Doors." 


Virginia  Valli  an^~  Gaston  Glass  in  another  scene  of  "Behind  Closed  Doors.' 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


29 


he  Baron  Bars  "Talkie"  in 
Referring  to  Sound  Film; 
Audien  Campaign  Growing 


An 

Entire 
Industry 
Must 
Decide 

— The  EXHIBITOR 
—The  PRODUCER 
—The  DISTRIBUTOR 
—The  STAR 
—The  DIRECTOR 
—The  SCENARIST 
—The  ADVERTISING  MAN 
—The  PUBLICIST 
—The  PROJECTIONIST 
—The  CAMERAMAN 
—The  TECHNICIAN 

ALL  must  join  in  selecting  a  name 
which  reflects  properly  and  ap- 
propriately the  dignity  and  im- 
portance of  the  Talking  Picture. 


Bv  DOUGLAS  HODGES 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8. 

They  are  juggling  words  today  in  Hollywood. 

— and  all  because  of  the  Herald-World  campaign  to  find  a  suitable  name — one 
to  which  the  public  will  react  favorably — for  talking  pictures. 

A  canvass  of  studios  shoics  producers  are  the  most  vigorous  of  any  of  the 
personnel  to  find  a  word  that  will  replace  '"talkie"  in  a  suitable  and  meaning- 
ful way.  Publicists  dislike  the  word.  They  prefer  another  but  are  reluctant 
to  join  in  the  launching  of  a  new  word  because  of  their  peculiar  position  with 
relation  to  newspapers. 

\^  hether  the  word  will  be  "Tonofihn,"  "Graphotone,"  or  "Movietone,"  Carl 
Laemmle  doesn't  know:  but  it  will  be  a  word  that  is  easy  to  spell,  read,  pronounce 
and  remember. 

William  LeBaron,  general  manager  of  production  and  vice  president  of 
FBO.  declares  emphatically,  "The  word,  talkie,  will  no  longer  be  tolerated 
by  official  reference  among  members  of  this  organization."  He  clearly  states 
that  the  word,  "Dialogue,"  is  being  incorporated  into  F  B  O's  identification 
of  the  talking  picture.  F  B  0  people  are  instructed  to  term  them  Dialogue 
films  and  Sound  films. 

He  states  further  that,  "according  to  a  survey  being  made  weekly  among 
exhibitors  F  B  O  finds  that  interest  in  Dialogue  films  is  growing  regularly." 

*    *  * 

There  are  those  like  Robert  Welsh  whose  interests  very  keenly  follow  the  de- 
velopments of  sound.  Mr.  Welsh  who  is  general  manager  of  Lniversal  Studios 
and  was  formerly  editor  of  Moving  Picture  World,  believes  however  that  the  best 
word  that  can  describe  it  and  the  best  word  that  at  the  same  time  dignifies  it  is 
"Movietone,"  one  we  already  have. 

"It's  a  word  of  only  nine  letters,"'  says  Mr.  Welsh,  "and  one  that  is  easily  accept- 
able by  the  public.  It  bears  a  heavy  investment  made  by  Fox  to  exploit  it. 
Eddie  Carewe  got  into  a  string  of  audios,  vocas,  phonecs,  and  resons  that 
would  frighten  a  philosopher  when  he  began  talking  about  the  words  that 
the  Herald-World  might  encounter  in  its  search  for  stems,  roots  and  prefixes 
icith  proper  derivation.  He  began  by  saying,  "It's  difficult  for  me  to  give  a 
correct  name  for  talking  pictures  because  my  sympathies  are  rather  with  the 
silent  pictures." 

And  then  he  added,  "Johnny  Grey  told  me  they  might  be  called  the  ^Chine- 
ma.' "  Al  Boasberg  say  s  "the  Smoosies"  typify  them.  A  producer  in  town  says 
they  are  "squawkies."    Some  people  call  them  names  that  y  ou  can  t  print. 

"Something  like  Socafilm,'  'audipix,'  'audifilm,'  'phonecinema,'  sonofilm,' 
'resonfilm,'  'cinephone'  or  what  have  you  might  be  useful,"  said  one. 

"Y'  gotta  get  a  better  name  than  'talkies',"  says  Harry  Joe  Brown,  associate 
producer  with  Charles  R.  Rogers,  whose  pictures  have  been  under  First  National 
release  two  years  and  under  other  release  four  others. 


What  Name  Do  You 

*  Mr.  Brown  observes  that,  "Every  guy  in  town  ought  to  get  his  noodle  work- 

ing on  the  job  of  finding  a  word  because  a  good  one  is  harder  than  the 
devil  to  find." 

But  Harry  Joe  Brown  is  a  student  of  production,  a  scholar  with  degrees  from 

NAME   University  of  Michigan,  post  work  in  University  of  Chicago  and  is  not  bad  as  a 

linguist.     He  ran  over  his  Latin  derivations  for  a  moment  and  then  came  back 

ADDRESS   with  a  hasty  conclusion  that  the  word  won't  come  from  a  man  of  letters. 

Tom  Mix  had  several  words  to  say  about  it  this  week.    He  said  that  he  and 

CITY  and  STATE   Tony  hadn't  done  so  much  in  the  line  of  talking  pictures  but  that  he  had  put 

a  lot  of  thought  on  them. 

[Fill  in  coupon  and  mail  to  EXHIBITORS  And  you  knotc  how  droll  Tom  talks  and  how  sincere  he  was  when  he  said, 

HERALD-WORLD,  407  South  Dearborn  St.,  "/  want  this  industry  of  mine  to  find  a  better  word  than  'Talkies'  because  I 
Chicago,  IB.]  love  this  old  business  of  makin'  pictures  and  I  hate  to  see  a  worthwhile  effort 

it's  making  be  placed  in  a  bad  light  by  a  fickle  public  that  misnames  things 
 .       whenever  it  can." 


30 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


Try  These! 


The  Herald-World's  campaign  to  find  a  suitable  name  for  talking  motion  pic- 
tures is  becoming  as  popular  as  the  cross  word  puzzle.    Try  these  names  and  see 
whether  they  roll  easily  off  the  tongue. 


PICTOLOG 
VOCAREEL 
AUDICINE 
CINOLOG 
CINEMA  PHONE 
FOTOVOX 
CINAVOICE 
— Philip  Hitter, 

Highway  Theatre, 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

*  *  * 

MOVIETONE 
— Robert  Welsh, 
General  Manager, 
Universal  Studio, 
Universal  City,  Cal. 

SCREENTONE 
— Joe  Brown, 
Producer, 
Hollywood,  Cal. 

TONOGRAPH 

GRAPHOPHONE 
— George  Bancroft, 
Paramount  Star, 
Hollywood,  Cal. 

*  *  * 

DIALOGUE 

— William  he  Baron, 
Vice  President,  F  B  0, 
Hollywood,  Cal. 

SYNCHROS 

— Otto  S.  Martin, 
Minneapolis, 
M  inn. 

*  *  * 

AUDI  EN 
AUDI  MA 
LOGIMA 
AUDIMAGO 
MOTIOPHONE 


VOCIMA 
VOXIMA 

— John  B.  Weis, 
Teutopolis, 
III. 

*  *  * 

VITASCOPE 
— John  E.  Wood, 
Comique  Theatre, 
Lynn,  Mass. 

*  *  * 

SEE  AND  HEAR 
— Paul  Richter, 
Colonial  Theatre, 
Montpelier,  0. 

OPTIVOX 

—W.  G.  Mitchell, 
Salem  Theatre, 
Salem,  Mass. 

*  *  * 

PHOTOVOX 
VOXFILM 
VITAPHONICS 
PARAVIEWS 
— Carl  Veseth, 

Palace  Theatre, 

Malta,  Mont. 

*  *  * 

KINEOGRAPH 

ELECTROGRAPH 

ZONOFILM 

AUDIOGRAPH 

—Mrs.  J.  B.  Du  Rand, 
Lyric  Theatre, 
Ellendale,  N.  D. 

*  *  * 

VOISET 

— Hoivard  E.  Glidden, 
Barre, 
Mass. 


PARLPICTURE 
PARL-PLAY 

— Vincent  Tate, 
Roosevelt  Theatre, 
Swoyersville,  Pa. 

*  *  * 

CIN  AUDIO 
CIN  EM  AUDIO 

— Wilfrid  D.  Jackson, 

Bala,  Ont., 

Canada. 

*  *  * 

HERANC 
HERANCE 
(Hear  and  See) 
— John  C.  Leveck, 

Benoit, 

Miss. 

*  *  * 

LIVING  PICTURES 
—W.  L.  Mack, 
Strand  Theatre, 
Jonesboro,  Ark. 

CNHEAR 
(See  and  Hear) 
—A.G.Miller, 

Lyric  Theatre, 

Atkinson,  Neb. 

*  ■  ♦  -  ♦ 

CNER-MOPIC 
CNERFILM 
(See  and  Hear  Motion 
Pictures) 
— Earl  Arnold, 
Liberty  Theatre, 
Watertown,  N.  Y. 

*  *  * 

ACTORPHONE 
ACTORGRAPH 
— Charles  Klein, 

Blackhills  Amusement, 
Deadwood,  S.  D. 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


31 


They  Say — 

Comments  on  and  suggestions  offered  in  the  Herald-World's  campaign  to  find 
a  suitable  name  for  talking  pictures  are  coming  from  many  sources — the  public, 
dramatic  critics,  producers,  exhibitors,  publicists,  directors  and  all  others  asso- 
ciated with  the  industry. 


"Vitascope"  Is  Offered 

In  answer  to  the  theatre  industry's 
request  for  an  appropriate  name  for  the 
combination  of  motion  picture  projection 
and  synchronized  sound  accompaniment, 
I  wish  to  submit  for  your  approval  the 
word  "Vitascope." 

As  you  can  easily  see  "Vitascope"  is 
composed  of  the  prefix  "znta"  denoting 
life,  and  the  suffix  "scope,"  implying  the 
total  range  of  a  subject.  Therefore,  the 
word  "Vitascope"  may  be  interpreted  as 
the  science  which  is  based  on  the  range 
of  fundamental  principles  necessary  to 
reproduce  a  scene  or  image  as  if  such 
were  actually  being  enacted  or  alive  and 
appearing  before  the  spectator.  The 
synchronized  sound  picture  does  this. 
It  incorporates  a  moving  image  pro- 
jected to  the  screen  and  the  synchro- 
nised accompaniment  of  voices,  music, 
sound  effects  or  a  combination  of  the 
three. 

Our  chief  concern  in  coining  a  new 
word  will  be  the  public's  reaction  and 
popular  approval  of  any  nezv  expression 
to  supersede  the  existing  names  of 
"talkie"  and  "speakie"  "which  "we  find  are 
being  widely  used  because  of  their  ease 
of  pronunciation.  The  public  shoivld 
experience  but  little  difficulty  in  becom- 
ing accustomed  to  the  word  "Vitascope," 
however,  as  its  prefix  has  already  been 
adopted  by  a  large  percentage  in  the 
well  known  trade  name,  "Vitaphone," 
whose  meaning  is  generally  understood 
throughout  the  United  States  to  such  an 
extent  tliat  in  some  cases  any  sound  in- 
stallation is  frequently  called  (erro- 
neously, of  course)  "Vitaphone." 

In  conclusion  it  might  also  be  said  that 
the  word  "Vitascope"  reflects  the  dignity 
and  purpose  of  an  industry  so  closely 
related  to  modern  life. 

—JOHN  E.  WOOD, 

Comique  theatre, 
Lynn,  Mass. 

*  *  * 

"The  Synchros" 

I  suggest  the  name  "the  synchros"  as  a 
fitting  title  for  sound  pictures. 

I  believe  this  title  properly  suggests  the  idea 
of  sound  pictures,  whether  talking,  sound 
effects  or  synchronized  music. 

The  public  is  pretty  well  familiar  now  with 
the  term  "synchronized"  and  as  all  pictures 
shown  now  carry  some  sort  of  a  synchroniza- 
tion, I  think  that  my  term  as  applied  to  sound 
pictures  conveys  the  idea  while  it  is  more  dig- 
nified and  explanatory  than  "talkies."  It  rolls 
easily  off  the  tongue  and  carries  the  meaning 
of  what  it  is  intended  to  describe. 

—OTTO  S.  MARTIN, 
Adart  Advertising  Company, 
Minneapolis,  Minn. 

*  *  * 

A  Host  of  Suggestions 

Your  campaign  in  the  HERALD- 
WORLD  for  a  dignified  and  interesting 
I  name  for  sound  and  talking  pictures 
has  been  attracting  my  attention  for  the 
past  few  weeks.  Your  name  of, 
"Audien,"  is  both  pleasing  to  the  ear 
and  proper  to  the  language.  However, 
many  people  will  associate  sound  pic- 
tures during  the  rest  of  their  lives  with 
Al  Jolson's  "The  Jazz  Singer"  and 
Vitaphone.  I  have  met  many  people 
that  did  not  know  of  the  many  other 
sound  devices.    If  the  general  public 


"were  left  to  choose  a  name  they  would 
probably  select  for  the  sound  of  it,  or 
from  affection. 

I  am  a  student  of  photography  trying 
In  enter  the  motion  picture  industry. 
As  I  take  a  great  interest  in  that  in- 
dustry I  "would  like  to  have  standard 
and  dignified  names  for  its  products. 
My  submittancc  follows: 

For  the  general  term  and  for  silent 
pictures — Photoplay,  Photopax  (picture 
and  peace),  Cinepax. 

For  dramas  and  photoplays  in  sound 
— Audien  ,  Audina  (hear  the  image), 
Logima  (the  talking  image),  Audimago, 
Motiophone,  Vocina  or  Voxima  (the 
image  with  voice),  Dramalog,  Oralog 

For  newsrecls  in  sound — Tcmpolog, 
Chronolog,  Tempovox,  Chronaudien, 
Chronaudima. 

These  are  the  best  I  can  coin.  In  the 
end  the  majority  of  the  public  will 
probably  prevail.  The  prcz'ailing  terms 
are  already  established  through  smash- 
ing advertising  campaigns  and  the 
sound  pictures  are  already  a  general 
and  important  part  of  the  industry.  It 
will  be  hard  to  catch  the  lusty  infant 
and  re-christen  it. 

—JOHN  B.  WEISS, 
Teutopolis,  III. 

*  *  * 

A  "See  and  Hear" 

Those  manufactured  Latinizations 
are  like  the  fossil  remains  in 
museums!  Why  not  clothe  the  dry 
bones  with  living  tissue!  They 
never  can  become  current  popular 
vernacular! 

Permit  us  to  suggest  the  Shakes- 
pearean English  —  Anglo  -  Saxon! 
"Can"  the  dead  language! 

A  "See  and  Hear,"  describes  the 
thing — it  says  it!  It  is  better  than 
highbrow — it  is  alive! 

PAUL  RICHTER, 
Orchestra,  Colonial  theatre, 

Montpelier,  O. 

jfc  % 

Professor  Apologizes 

Please  do  not  think  that  I  have  been  un- 
mindful of  the  request  you  made.  The  fact  of 
the  matter  is  that  I  simplv  cannot  think  of  a 
term  that  would  fit  the  rase.  I  have  racked 
my  brain  and  the  brain  of  other*,  have  waited 
for  an  insnirins'  moment,  but  all  to  no  avail. 
—GEORGE  WE1DA  SPOHN, 
Department  of  English, 

St   Olaf  colleac, 
Northfield,  Minn 

*  *  * 

"Audien?"  Hardly 

I  am  pleased  to  note  that  you  are  making  a 
drive  to  find  a  suitable  name  for  the  sound 
Dtcture.  This  action  is  to  be  commended. 
Your  initiative  is  praiseworthy  and  the  end 
in  view  necessary. 

The  public  is  quick  to  grasp  a  svnonym. 
Alreadv  the  words  "talkie"  and  "sneakie"  are 
beard  in  reference  to  the  sound  picture.  And 
within  a  few  months  thev  will  have  such  a 
firm  nla^e  in  the  public's  vocabularv  that 
erasure  will  be  impossible.  The  word  "movie" 
will  forever  stick  to  this  industry  because 
we  made  no  effort  to  eliminate  it  st  the  start. 

Your  proposal  of  the  word  "audien"  should 
be  seriously  considered.  Tts  connotation  is 
perfect.  It  smacks  of  modernism,  vet  is  dig- 
nified and  appropriate.    As  I  see  it,  there  is 


but  one  objection  to  its  adoption- — the  lack  of 
immediate  application  to  the  motion  picture 
when  first  heard. 

To  the  layman  "audien"  will  at  once  be 
applied  to  "audience"  due  to  its  derivation, 
but  will  it  have  sufficient  significance  to  dis- 
tinguish the  motion  picture  audience  from  the 
legitimate?  Can  it  be  brought  into  universal 
use  without  concentration  on  the  part  of  the 
public  ? 

For  this  reason,  I  believe  a  word  should  be 
coined  from  the  terms  now  in  general  use  and 
which  relate  directly  to  the  motion  picture, 
so  that  the  public  may  immediately  grasp  the 
meaning  from  its  similarity  to  words  already 
familiar. 

I  would  suggest  that  as  quickly  as  tenta- 
tive names  come  into  your  office  .that  jseu 
make  a  list  of  those  which  appear  the  most 
applicable  and  that  this  list  be  forwarded  to 
the  Hays  organization  with  the  recommenda- 
tion that  the  producers  decide  upon  the  most 
suitable  term  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

Once  the  name  is  designated  every  advertis- 
ing accessory  distributed  by  the  producers 
should  bear  this  name.  Or  rather,  every  scrap 
of  publicity  matter  distributed  on  sound. 

I  profess  no  unusual  ability  in  originating 
names.  However,  I  can  do  what  hundreds  of 
others  in  the  industry  should  do — offer  my 
suggestions  to  the  only  trade  paper  who  has 
recognized  this  important  need — the  Herald- 
World. 

I  take  pleasure,  therefore,  in  suggesting  the 
following  terms  for  what  they  may  be  worth  : 

"Vocafilm" — Voca  will  be  immediately 
placed  in  connection  with  "vocal."  Film  is 
already  familiar  to  the  public  and  recognized 
as  a  motion  picture  term.  "The  most  out- 
standing Vocafilm  of  the  year." 

"Audifilm" — Audi  will  be  connected  with 
"audible"  and  "audience"  as  you  have  planned 
in  the  use  of  "audien."  Film  is  self-explana- 
tory in  this  term  also.  "The  greatest  Audifilm 
ever  presented  at  this  theatre." 

There  are  many  other  semi-explanatory  com- 
binations such  as,  "Auditures,"  or  just  "audi- 
bles,"  "Mototone,"  "Vocature,"  "Pictone," 
"Audigraph,"  or  "Audiscreen,"  but  in  my 
opinion  the  word  "film"  will  have  to  be  used 
as  one  of  the  syllables  in  whatever  combina- 
tion may  be  decided  upon,  to  give  the  public 
a  clear  and  concise  connection  in  its  relation 
to  motion  pictures.  The  terms  "Audi,"  "Voca" 
and  "Tone"  are  easily  connected  with 
sound  but  do  "Moto,"  "Photo,"  or  "Graph," 
adequately  describe  the  motion  picture? 

Of  the  two  suggested  names  "Vocafilm" 
and  "Audifilm,"  I  believe  the  latter  most 
suitable  to  all  sound  productions.  "Voca- 
film" may  be  interpreted  as  a  dialogue  pic- 
ture which  would  not  be  consistent  when 
advertising  sound  effects,  while  "Audifilm" 
can  be  used  to  describe  either  dialogue  or 
sound  effects  because  both  are  a  part  of 
sound  reproduction.  Or,  for  that  matter, 
"Vocafilm"  could  be  used  to  denote  the 
dialogue  picture,  while  "Audifilm"  be  util- 
ized for  sound  effects.  But  two  separate 
and  distinct  terms  will  not  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  one  concrete  example  upon  the 
public. 

Whatever  the  result  may  be,  I  want  to 
again  express  my  appreciation  of  your  ef- 
forts to  establish  the  sound  picture  in  the 
minds  of  the  public  as  a  dignified  product 
of  a  great  industry,  and  to  hope  that  the 
publicity  you  are  giving  the  subject  will  be 
met  with  an  instant  response  from  every- 
one connected  therein. 

— E.  F.  NUTTER, 
Rozvlesburg,  W.  Va. 


32 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


Qirl  Manager  Who  Began  in  Shed 
At  Five,  Urges  Sales  Counsellors 

Miss  Monica  T.  Lamere  at  18  Runs  Two  Theatres  and  Says  She'd  Rather 
Drop  Lease  Than  Herald-World 

[By  Special  Correspondent  of  the  Herald- World] 

LUDLOW,  VT.,  Jan.  8. — "Salesmen  think  more  in  sympathy  with  the  prob- 
lem of  the  exhibitor  in  'the  sticks,'  and  less  in  competition  for  his  order. 
Give  him  a  boost  with  honest  counsel."  This  is  the  plea  of  Miss  Monica 
T.  Lamere,  who  though  only  18,  has  successfully  managed  the  two  motion 
picture  houses  here  for  more  than  a  year. 


"T\ESPITE  her  youth  Miss  Lamere  is  a 
real  veteran  of  the  industry.  She 
learned  her  alphabet  from  the  full  sheet 
lithographs  of  Biograph  days  and  could 
read  the  press  agentry  of  the  clip-sheets 
before  ever  she  went  to  school,  for  her 
father,  Harry  N.  Lamere,  has  been  the 
arbiter  of  Ludlow  entertainment  programs 
since  she  was  a  babe  in  arms. 

Pointing  to  a  stack  of  EXHIBI- 
TORS HERALD-WORLDS  she  de- 
clared that  but  for  such  advices  as 
is  contained  in  the  "What  the  Picture 
Did  for  Me"  column  the  country 
manager  would  be  in  a  permanent 
predicament  for  his  selection  of  a 
program. 

"Up  here  in  the  country  we  would 
be  hopeless  without  such  help  as  our 
trade  magazines  afford  us  in  the  ex- 
change of  experiences  with  pictures," 
she  continued.    "It  has  been  a  con- 
stant problem  for  my  father  and  me 
to  sift  the  pictures  offered  him  and 
to  determine  what  is  best  suited  for 
our  town.    Without  the  candid  opin- 
ions of  fellow  exhibitors  our  average 
of  successful  selections   would  cer- 
tainly be  far  lower  than  it  has  been. 
We  would  sooner  dispense  with  our 
theatre  lease  than  with  our  HER- 
ALD-WORLD, for  without  the  latter 
the  former  would  be  but  a  liability. 
When   only  five  she  demonstrated  her 
exhibitor's    heritage    in    threatening  her 
dad's  monopoly  with  a  show  of  her  own 
in  the  family  woodshed  at  a  two  penny 
top.    Other  children  might  be  content  with 
pins  and  buttons  but  only  the  hard  coin 
of  the  realm  would  open  the  doors  to  the 
Lamere  woodshed  for  little  Monica's  mim- 
icking of  her  impresario  father.    She  de- 
manded cash  and  had   sold  all   nine  re- 
served seats  too,  before  discovering  that  her 
paternal  rival  had  confiscated  the  rotary 
kaleidoscope  with  which  she  had  intended 
to  project  her  show,  besides  tearing  down 
her  hand-printed  advertising  from  the  trees 
throughout  the  neighborhood. 

The  girl  manager  has  never  missed 
a  single  picture  in  Ludlow  since  she 
has  been  of  school  age,  a  record  in 
itself  perhaps.  Certainly  the  several 
thousand  programs  she  has  attended 
have  given  her  an  excellent  back- 
ground in  the  selection  of  her  com- 
munity's entertainment  today  by  af- 
fording her  an  unexcelled  opportu- 
nity to  sense  her  fellow  fan's 
reactions  to  the  various  types  of  pic- 
tures. 

Through  high  school  Monica  was  per- 
mitted to  help  with  the  tickets  and  usher- 
ing. On  Sundays  she  collaborated  in  the 
correspondence,  serving  as  her  busy 
father's  secretary.  After  graduation  from 
Black  River  Academy — President  Coo- 
lidge's  high  school  too,  incidentally — she 
chose  a  business  course  instead  of  college 
in  order  to  relieve  her  dad  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible of  the  office  detail,  for  motion  pic- 
tures have  been  but  a  sideline  with  him. 
Printing  is  his  trade  and  hobby. 

Father  was  stricken  seriously  ill  shortly 


after  Monica  completed  her  commercial 
course  and  the  business  developed  entirely 
upon  her  before  she  had  had  time  to  hang 
up  her  bookkeeper's  diploma.  She  proved 
equal  to  the  emergency,  however,  and  was 
overjoyed  to  hear  her  father  agree  that  she 
had  done  even  better  than  he  himself  ever 
had  done  in  a  similar  period.  Her  manage- 
ment had  been  profitable  enough  to  war- 
rant her  assuming  complete  charge  perma- 
nently, he  said,  in  turning  over  the  business 
to  her  after  his  recovery.  Since  then,  more 
than  a  year  ago,  Miss  Lamere  has  had  the 
responsibility  of  every  detail  in  the  selec- 
tion and  exhibition  of  every  program  in 
both  Hammond  Hall  and  the  Town  Hall, 
Ludlow's  only  picture  houses. 

Writes  All  Advertising 

She  writes  all  the  advertising  of  a  local 
nature,  helps  in  ticket  selling  and  when  her 
boy  aides  happen  to  be  absent,  even  posts 
the  lithographs  and  distributes  the  window- 
cards.  But  no  matter  how  busy  she  may 
be,  she  still  views  every  show. 

"I  haven't  lost  a  least  bit  of  my  childish 
enthusiasm  for  the  screen,"  she  explained. 
"And  besides  seeking  personal  enjoyment 
in  the  picture,  I  can  find  out  how  our 
friends  like  it  by  sitting  among  them. 

"The  greatest  obstacle  in  motion  picture 
exhibition  seems  to  me  to  lie  where  one 
ought  least  to  expect  to  find  an  obstacle, 
in  the  salesmen,"  Miss  Lamere  began  in 
discussing  the  the  country  exhibitors  ap- 
preciation of  selling  methods  from  her  own 
experience. 


Miss  Monica  T.  Lamere,  18-year-old  man- 
ager of  the  two  theatres  at  Ludlow,  Vt., 
is  shown  at  her  desk.  Miss  Lamere  pays 
particular  tribute  to  the  "What  the  Pic- 
ture Did  for  Me"  department  of  the 
Herald-World. 


"The  average  salesman  is  all  wrong 
about  the  country  audience.  He  cannot 
realize,  or  will  not  realize,  that  there  is  as 
definite  a  demarcation  between  program 
preferences  city  and  rural  as  there  is  be- 
tween political  preferences  in  metropolis 
and  village.  A  hit  in  the  big  towns  is  most 
likely  to  flop  in  the  country  districts.  What 
spells  success  for  Broadway  may  mean  ruin 
on  Main  Street." 

"It  isn't  the  superspecials  and  superfea- 
tures  that  get  across  for  the  small  exhibi- 
tor, according  to  our  Ludlow  experience. 
Time  and  again  we  have  seen  it  demon- 
strated that  even  the  best  press  agentry 
cannot  coax  the  customers  literally  across 
Main  Street  to  view  the  highly  touted  ro- 
mance or  historical  pageant,  while  blood 
and  thunder  Westerns,  mounted  police  and 
animal  star  stories  have  a  positive  and 
profitable  appeal.    Curious,  yet  true. 

Librarian  Adds  Proof 

"Our  village  librarian  bears  me  out  in 
this,  for  people  choose  their  pictures  as 
they  choose  their  books.  In  Ludlow  we 
are  blessed  with  an  unusually  fine  library, 
but  it  is  not  the  romanticists  and  poets 
whom  we  read.  The  classics  too  accumu- 
late dust  in  their  undisturbed  slumbers  on 
our  library  shelves  while  there  is  always  a 
waiting  list  for  Zane  Grey,  Peter  B.  Kyne, 
Rex  Beach  and  their  fellow  chroniclers  of 
pioneering  eras  and  apostles  of  the  great 
outdoors. 

"Nor  is  the  reason  far  to  seek.  It  is 
merely  a  question  of  environment,  I  think. 
In  our  proximity  to  the  wide  open  spaces 
we  suffer  less  from  artificiality,  the  gloss 
and  glamour  of  sophistication  being  little 
or  no  part  of  us.  Curiously  too,  when  we 
venture  to  the  city  we  seem  mad  in  our 
pursuit  of  the  city's  type  of  pleasure  and 
vie  with  one  another  in  sharing  the  city's 
entertainment  upon  which  we  would  turn 
thumbs  down  at  home. 

"But  then  it  is  so  comforting,  by  con- 
trast, to  return  to  our  accustomed  corner 
in  our  town  hall  and  thrill  with  the  kids 
for  five  reels  in  the  triumph  of  right  over 
might  and  the  final  rescue  of  the  fair  lady 
in  a  wild  and  wooly  Western.  In  a  word, 
I  think  country  folks  like  city  shows  just 
to  brag  about  having  seen  them.  They  go 
to  extravaganza  programs  when  away  from 
home  just  to  be  able  to  tell  their  neighbors 
they  had  seen  this  or  that,"  and  not  because 
they  enjoy  them  especially. 

Black  and  White  of  Experience 

"This  is  but  a  casual  survey  of  our  coun- 
try problem  in  program  selection.  Yet 
when  we  try  to  explain  it  to  the  average 
salesman  he  will  argue  himself  blue  in  the 
face  to  contradict  the  black  and  white  of 
our  experience.  Out  of  20  recent  special 
features,  including  "The  Covered  Wagon," 
"The  Way  of  All  Flesh"  and  the  like,  we 
lost  money  on  nineteen  and  barely  broke 
even  on  the  twentieth.  Yet  strangers  to 
our  theatres  will  try  to  prove  us  wrong 
in  our  prejudices. 

"Dad  and  I  have  compiled  a  record 
of  every  picture  exhibited  in  both  our 
houses  during  the  last  year,  with  the 
weather  and  other  circumstances  af- 
fecting attendance  carefully  checked. 
We  call  our  volume  'Figures  Don't 
Lie,'  after  the  picture.  Yet  even  in 
the  face  of  this  record  there  are 
salesmen  who  will  waste  thousands 
of  words  in  attempted  refutation  of 
our  observation. 

"The  salesman  some  day  is  going  to  ex- 
ecute a  right  about  face  and  approach  the 
country  exhibitor  on  a  different  tack.  He 
is  going  to  study  our  problem  sympathe- 
tically and  intelligently,  is  going  to  put 
himself  in  our  place  and  view  the  situation 
with  our  eyes.  Like  the  politicians  he  is 
going  to  differentiate  between  the  country 
and  the  city  preference.  He  is  going  to 
try  sincerely  to  help  us." 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


33 


Let  Builders  See  What 
They  Can  Do:  Brisbane 

"Everything  gets  bigger,"  writes 
Arthur  Brisbane  in  the  Hearst  papers. 
"William  Fox  will  build  at  Broadway 
and  Forty-seventh  St.,  New  York,  a 
forty-story  building  to  contain  the 
biggest  moving  picture  theatre.  When 
this  is  done,  somebody  else — Metro- 
Coldwyn-Mayer,  Paramount  or  some- 
body— will  come  along  and  build  a 
£fty-story  building  and  a  bigger  the- 
atre. These  are  days  of  big  things, 
and  the  business  of  government  is 
NOT  to  interfere  with  them.  Let  the 
builders  and  business  men  see  what 
they  can  do." 


See  Move  to  Settle 
Marks  Case  as  Quiz 
Of  Zukor  Is  Waived 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8— New  efforts  to 
settle  out  of  court  the  antitrust  suit 
brought  by  Marks  Brothers,  Chicago  cir- 
cuit, against  Paramount,  its  subsidiary, 
Balaban  &  Katz,  and  others,  were  seen  in 
the  agreement  of  both  parties  to  drop  in- 
definitely the  examination  of  Adolph  Zukor, 
president  of  Paramount,  scheduled  before 
Federal  Commissioner  O'Xeill  in  Xew  York 
today. 

Elek  John  Ludvigh,  general  counsel  for 
Paramount,  said  that  no  settlement  had 
been  made  when  the  Zukor  examination 
was  dropped.  Joseph  Rosenberg  of  plain- 
tiff's counsel  was  in  New  York  to  take  the 
deposition. 

*    *  * 

In  Chicago  it  was  said  at  attorney 
Rosenberg's  office  January  7,  that  Para- 
mount attorneys  were  indicating  a  willing- 
ness to  confer  on  a  settlement.  Confer- 
ences to  the  same  end  failed  several  weeks 
ago. 


Edward  A.  Smith  Named 
F  &  R  District  Manager 
In  Personnel  Changes 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
MINNEAPOLIS,  Jan.  8.— Edward  A. 
Smith,  manager  of  the  Minnesota  theatre, 
has  been  appointed  district  manager  of  ap- 
proximately 30  F  &  R  houses  in  Minnesota, 
Iowa  and  Nebraska.  He  is  succeeded  at  the 
Minnesota  by  Murray  Pennock,  formerly 
manager  of  the  Paramount  in  New  York. 

Ralph  Branton,  former  F  &  R  general 
manager,  now  heads  the  11  F  &  R-Publix 
theatres  in  the  Twin  Cities.  Charles 
Murphy,  manager  of  the  Capitol  in  St.  Paul, 
has  been  promoted  to  production  manager 
for  F  &  R  stage  shows.  John  Coring  of 
Los  Angeles  is  filling  his  position  at  the 
Capitol. 

Ben  Ferris  has  taken  over  the  advertis- 
ing and  publicity  work  for  the  11  F  &  R- 
Publix  houses  in  the  Twin  Cities.  He  for- 
merly did  the  same  work  for  all  the  F  &  R 
houses. 


Bristolphone  Makes  15 
Installations  First  Week 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Budd  Rogers, 
sales  manager  of  Sonora-Bristolphone,  an- 
nounces that  IS  installations,  for  the  first 
week  of  the  1929  season,  have  been  made. 
Over  25  engineers  are  kept  at  the  com- 
pany's plant  in  Waterbury,  Connecticut,  for 
the  purpose  of  grooming  them  to  supervise 
installations. 


Fox  Fetes  Silver  Anniversary 
With  Plans  for  7  Huge  Houses 

Broadway  Theatre-Office  Building  Would  Be  40  Stories  High — 
Agreements  Signed  for  Boston  Site — Predicts 
$200,000,000  Fox  Chain  Business 

Coincident  with  the  observance  of  his  Silver  Anniversary  in  the  motion  pic- 
ture industry,  William  Fox  announced  this  week  a  new  expansion  program 
calling-  for  construction  of  huge  theatre  and  office  buildings  of  5,000  to  6,000 
seats  within  a  year  in  a  number  of  key  cities,  including  New  York,  Chicago, 
Los  Angeles,  Pittsburgh,  Cleveland,  Boston,  and  Baltimore,  according  to  news- 
paper dispatches  from  Xew  York. 

The  Xew  York  theatre  building,  reported  as  a  ten-million-dollar  project, 
would  be  a  40-story  structure  at  Broadway  and  47th  street,  where  the  Central 
theatre  now  stands,  and  would  dominate  one  of  the  most  striking  parts  of 
Xew  York. 


The  company  has  recently  opened  large 
buildings  as  in  Detroit,  Brooklyn  and  Wash- 
ington and  buildings  at  St.  Louis,  San  Fran- 
cisco and  Atlanta  are  nearing  completion. 

The  sites  already  have  been  selected,  it 
was  stated.    Fox  is  quoted  as  follows: 

"About  three  and  a  half  years  ago  T  de- 
cided that  the  mo- 
tion picture  going 
public  was  ahead  of 
the  producers  and 
that  growth  and  ex- 
p  a  n  s  i  o  n,  coupled 
with  finer  products, 
alone  would  lift  the 
business  to  a  higher 
plane.  The  recent 
activity  in  opening 
new  super-type  thea- 
tres, seating  5,000  to 
6,000  people,  is  the 
result  of  a  couple  of 
years'  work  and 
planning. 

"After  reorganiz- 
ing the  program  department,  we  decided 
upon  the  policy  of  building  super-theatres 
in  all  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  United 
States,  and  for  this  purpose,  in  1925,  the 
Fox    Theatres    Corporation    was  formed, 
with  an  initial  investment  of  $12,000,000." 
Fox  predicted  of  the  Fox  Theatres 
Corporation:    "In  three  or  four  years 
it  would  not  surprise  me  to  see  this 
business  equal  $200,000,000  a  year." 
Twenty-five  years  ago  Fox,  who  had  been 
brought  from  Hungary  by  his  family  as  a 
poor  immigrant  boy,  made  a  modest  start 
in    the    film    business.     For   $1,666.67  he 
bought  a  one-third  interest  in  a  tiny  cinema 
theatre  of  146  seats  contrived  out  of  a  store 
on  Broadway  in  Brooklyn.    From  that  in- 
conspicuous start  Fox  has  risen  to  be  one 
of  the  leading  millionaires  of  the  country, 
holding  hundreds  of  theatres  throughout  the 
country,  with  a  seating  capacity  exceeding 
600,000.    Included  among  them  is  the  Roxy 
theatre,  largest  in  the  world,  and  the  new 


IT  illiam  Fox 


Fox  theatre  in  St.  Louis,  called  the  second 
largest,  to  be  formally  opened  this  month 
as  part  of  the  Silver  Anniversary  celebra- 
tion. 

140  Acres  of  Studios 

From  a  circumscribed  studio  at  Fort  Lee, 
N.  J.,  which  the  Fox  company  inaugurated 
when  it  was  found  necessary  to  produce  its 
own  pictures  for  filling  an  expanding  theatre 
chain,  the  organization  now  has  two  huge 
studios  in  Hollywood  and  nearby.  They 
comprise  140  acres  and  include  Movietone 
City,  a  40-acre  plant  with  27  buildings  and 
eight  vast  stages,  completed  with  typical 
Fox  speed  in  three  months.  In  addition 
there  are  the  studio  facilities  in  the  New 
York  headquarters  at  10th  avenue  and  55th 
street,  with  capacity  for  ten  units.  These 
are  now  devoted  to  Movietone  short  sub- 
jects. 

130  Branches  in  World 

The  laboratory  equipment  of  Fox  has 
grown  from  a  ramshackle  building  at  Fort 
Lee,  first  used  in  1914,  to  huge  plants  in 
New  York  and  Hollywood.  A  production 
capacity  of  56,000  feet  a  day  has  soared  to 
1,000,000  feet  in  the  New  York  laboratory 
alone. 

Exchange  offices  have  grown  from  half 
a  dozen  to  130  branch  offices  throughout  the 
world.  From  150  workers  the  number  now 
employed  bv  Fox  Film  Corporation  totals 
8,666. 

Agreements  Signed  for 
Boston  Tract  Purchase 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
BOSTON,  Jan.  8.— With  a  strong  foot- 
hold already  obtained  in  the  New  England 
territory  through  purchase  of  the  Poli  Cir- 
cuit, comes  the  announcement  that  agree- 
ments have  been  signed  for  the  purchase 
of  about  an  acre  of  land  at  Tremont  and 
Boylston  streets,  this  city,  by  interests  rep- 
resenting William  Fox.  It  was  also  an- 
nounced that  the  largest  theatre  in  New 
England  would  be  erected  by  Fox  interests 
in  Boston  as  part  of  a  theatre-office  building 
project. 


Bandits  Shoot  Way  Oat  of  Filled  House 
With  $3,000  Loot;  "Thriller"  Chase  Ensues 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8. — Every  resource  of  the  New  York  police  department  is  be- 
ing thrown  into  the  search  for  eight  bandits  who  Sunday  night  held  up  the  Fox 
Folly  Theatre,  in  Brooklyn,  and  escaped  with  $3,000.  It  was  show  time  and  the 
2,500-seat  house  was  crowded. 

The  bandits  fought  their  way  out  of  the  theatre  in  a  gun  battle  in  which  one 
policeman  was  wounded,  and  then  followed  a  typical  motion  picture  chase  with  bul- 
lets Bying  between  the  bandit  car  and  pursuing  police. 

The  bandit  car  was"  later  found  abandoned  with  27  bullet  holes  in  it,  and  blood 
on  the  car  showed,  police  say,  that  at  least  one  of  the  bandits  had  been  wounded. 
Patrons  were  terrified  by  the  shooting.    Many  of  them  Bed  the  theatre. 

No  trace  had  been  found  of  the  bandits  late  Monday. 


34 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


Community  Tieups  Point  Way 
To  Increased  Receipts  in  '29 

Biechele  Sends  Woman  to  Confer  with  Parents  on  Pictures  for 
Children — F  &  R  Has  Business  Association  Operate  Theatre 
at  Premiere — Hallowe'en  Party  Draws  Thanks 
By  ERNEST  A.  ROVELSTAD 

Greater  and  more  effective  use  of  the  community  tieup  as  a  direct  link  be- 
tween the  theatre  manager  and  the  box  office  for  increased  business  in  1929  is 
seen  in  the  experiences  of  the  past  year.  Exhibitors  are  awakening  more  and 
more  to  the  fact  that  the  enlisting  of  goodwill,  not  necessarily  in  connection 
with  the  screening  of  a  particular  picture,  will  show  him  larger  returns  than 
in  1928  when  he  comes  to  balancing  his  books  next  winter. 

Sound  has  been  a  factor  in  bringing  new  patrons  into  the  theatre,  but  even 
sound  will  not  bring  the  added  receipts  possible  unless  astute  management  is 
asserted  in  the  form  of  exhibitor-evidence  of  his  interest  in  his  public's  affairs, 
leading  theatre  owners  agree.  To  show  what  has  been  done  in  an  outstanding 
way  in  the  direction  of  community  tieups  in  the  past  year,  the  Herald-World 
called  upon  its  correspondents,  and  the  first  of  their  replies  are  printed  here- 
with. It  is  also  to  be  emphasized  that  exhibitors  are  invited  to  send  in  de- 
scriptions of  their  most  effective  community  tieups  in  the  past  year. 

Gets  Parents  Thinking 
On  Exhibitor  Problems 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

KANSAS  CITY,  KAN.,  Jan.  8.— Of  all 


Turns  Show  Over  to 
Business  Association 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

MINNEAPOLIS,  Jan.  8.— Probably  the 
most  notable  community  tieup  of  F  &  R  the- 
atres in  1928,  and  certainly  the  one  that 
reached  the  greatest  number  of  people,  was 
that  in  connection  with  the  opening  of  the 
Granada  theatre,  an  uptown  house.  The 
day  before  the  regular  public  opening,  F-R 
turned  the  theatre  over  to  the  Hennepin- 
Lake  Business  Men's  Association,  an  or- 
ganization in  the  Granada  theatre  district. 
F-R  provided  the  association  with  the  en- 
tire makings  of  the  show,  films,  operator, 
musicians,  and  so  on,  and  then  let  the 
Hennepin-Lake  association  put  on  the 
show.  The  business  men  had  charge  of 
the  tickets,  with  admission  only  by  invita- 
tion. 

That  the  business  men  were  "all 
for"  the  Granada  goes  without  say- 
ing.   Since  opening  late  in  the  sum- 
mer, the  theatre  has  had  excellent 
■patronage    from    the  neighborhood. 
The    business    people    patronize  it 
largely  as  a  matter  of  fact  and  their 
praise   of  the  theatre  and  its  pic- 
tures brings  in  many  residents  of  the 
neighborhood  who  otherwise  would 
be  tempted  to  go  downtown,  as  well 
as  new  patrons. 
Two  other  tieups,  both  at  the  State  the- 
atre, a  downtown  house,  proved  success- 
ful.   The  week  preceding  the  showing  of 
"Four  Sons,"  Clem  Pope,  then  manager, 
and  E.  V.  Seibel,  publicity  director,  went 
out  after  the  German  patronage.  Thou- 
sands of  postal  cards,  depicting  the  mother 
with  her  four  sons,  were  mailed  to  mem- 
bers of  the  various  German  societies  in  the 
Twin  Cities  and  territory  within  a  25  mile 
radius.     Pastors   of   the   various  German 
Catholic  and  German  Lutheran  churches  in 
the  Twin  Cities  were  also  induced  to  praise 
the  picture  from  their  pulpits  on  the  Sun- 
day preceding  the  opening. 

A  few  months  later,  during  the  showing 
of  "The  Singing  Fool,"  manager  Pope  in- 
vited 50  blind  inmates  from  the  different 
institutions  in  Minneapolis  to  be  guests  at 
the  showing  of  the  talking  picture. 


tieups  which  have  brought  good  results,  R. 
R.  Biechele,  manager  of  the  Osage  theatre, 
and  president  of  the  M.  P.  T.  0.  Kansas- 
Missouri,  has  one  which  overshadows  all 
others  in  his  experience. 

Not  long  ago  Biechele  employed  a 
woman  with  a  typical  "school  ma'am"  pro- 
file to  visit  each  residence  in  the  commu- 
nity and  consult  parents  on  what  type  of 
pictures  they  desired  most  for  their  chil- 
dren. All  sorts  of  opinions  were  expressed 
and,  insofar  as  learning  the  types  of  pic- 
tures most  in  demand,  the  stunt  was  not 
a  worldbeater,  but  the  real  object  did  not 
concern  pictures  alone. 

"I  wanted  some  method  to  prove 
to   parents  that   I   was   more  than 
ready  to  meet  them  halfway  in  ob- 
taining the  types  of  pictures  which 
they  desired  their  children  to  see," 
Biechele  said.    "I  didn't  gain  much 
knowledge  from  them  as  to  the  types 
of  pictures  unanimously  desired,  but 
I  did  start  them  to  thinking — think- 
ing that,  after  all,  my  intentions  were 
good  and  that  the  theatre  was  an 
actual  community  institution  in  which 
they  had  something  to  say. 
"The  salary  to  the  woman  was  not  large 
and    the    returns    were    good.  However, 
don't  misunderstand  me.    If  there  had  been 
an  unanimous  expression  of  opinion  con- 
cerning certain  types  of  pictures  you  can 
bet  your  bottom  dollar  I  would  have  ob- 
tained those  pictures." 


St.  Clair  to  Direct  Lloyd 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Harold  Lloyd's 
next  production  which  is  not  yet  titled  will 
be  directed  by  Malcolm  St.  Clair. 


Halloween  Party  Saves 
Property  for  Community 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
BERKELEY,  CAL.,  Jan.  8.— No,  Fred 
Fink,  manager  of  the  State  theatre,  Oro- 
ville,  Cal.,  is  not  a  boy  scout,  but  he  does 
know  boys  and  is  a  good  old  scout,  doing 
his  good  deed  daily.  Fred  did  a  lot  of  good 
deeds  during  1928,  but  none  earned  him  the 
heartfelt  thanks  of  the  community  to  quite 
the  extent  that  did  his  stunt  in  connection 
with  Halloween. 

The  youngsters  of  Oroville  are  not  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  any  other  community 
and  sometimes  their  mischievous  prank? 
prove  more  than  exasperating  to  their 
elders.     As  Holloween  neared,  merchants 


The  Movies  as  a  Community  Asset 


We  Vr.f>v  g  professional  mar., 
wh#  says  be  finds  perfect  rest  and 
mental  relaxation  at  the  movie. 
W  hen  he  is  tired  he  goes  to  the 
picture  ibow 

We  know  a  family  who  plan  to 
go  to  the  movie  together  once  s 
week  "Movie  night"  an  ex- 
tremely enjoyable  event  to  them. 


We  know  many  country  people 
vho  find  in  the  movie  their  only 
fjree  of  year-round  recreation. 


We  know  hundreds  who  ha*e 
m measurably  broadened  their 
uion  of  life  by  glimpses  of  dis- 
int  lands  and  of  important 

vents  in  our  own  country 


We  do  not  be!  ieve  that  boys  are 
led  a±tray  by  bandit  picture*  or 
that  the  movies  in  general  are  ex- 
erting an  unwholesome  influence 
on  the  youth  of  our  commuuity 
We  consider  the  moving  picture 
house  a  real  community  asset,  a 
source  of  pkasart  recreation  and 
amusement 


THE  OTTAWA  HERALD 


Does  community  work  on  the  part  of  ex- 
hibitors help?  Note  the  above  and  then 
read  the  following  from  J.  H.  Campbell 
of  the  Crystal  theatre  at  Ottawa,  Kan.: 
"The  local  exhibitors  were  agreeably  sur- 
prised last  Saturday  when  the  accompany- 
ing article  appeared  in  our  local  paper. 
This  space  came  unsolicited  on  the  part 
of  the  exhibitors  and  I  consider  it  quite 
an  unusual  event  when  the  newspaper 
ivill  take  such  a  step  on  their  own  voli- 
tion.'' Right,  Campbell,  but  it  also  shows 
how  worthwhile  it  is  for  the  exhibitor  to 
cultivate  community  goodwill. 


Jessel  and  "Lucky  Boy" 
Hailed  as  Winners  at 
Special  T-S  Showing 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— "Lucky  Boy," 
starring  George  Jessel,  was  given  a  special 
snowing  last  Friday  at  the  Embassy  the- 
atre on  Broadway.  Its  appetite  whetted 
by  a  particularly  active  and  energetic  ad- 
vance publicity  campaign  by  Tiffany-Stahl, 
a  big  crowd  turned  out  to  see  the  picture. 

George  Jessel  makes  this  picture  stand 
out.  He  is  the  star  and  the  story  and  his 
personality  carries  the  load  neatly.  He 
sings  five  songs  during  the  picture  and  the 
theme  song,  "My  Mother's  Eyes,"  promises 
to  keep  things  humming. 

The  feeling  seemed  general  that  Tiffany- 
Stahl  has  a  winner  with  this  picture. 

and  others  resigned  themselves  to  the  usual 
orgy  of  marked  windows,  misplaced  signs 
and  damaged  property. 

Fred  Fink  decided  that  a  lot  of  the 
trouble  experienced  on  this  occasion  was 
unnecessary  and  that  all  that  was  needed 
was  to  divert  the  youthful  mind  toward 
other  forms  of  entertainment.  He  entered 
into  an  arrangement  with  local  merchants 
and  the  daily  newspapers  and  had  pub- 
lished in  the  latter  an  honor  card  for  Hal- 
loween. This  card  pledged  the  signer  to 
refrain  from  marking  windows,  or  disfigur- 
ing property  or  being  a  nuisance  in  any 
way.  The  reward  was  a  free  admission  to 
a  special  performance  of  "Ali  Baba  and  His 
Forty  Thieves." 

The  theatre  was  packed,  the  youngsters 
of  Oroville  had  a  great  time  and  reports 
of  damage  to  property  were  reduced  to  a 
minimum. 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


35 


Lottery  Sentence 
Upheld;  Says  Free 
Raffles  are  Legal 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  ORLEANS,  Jan.  8.— Writs  to  pre- 
vent Judge  A.  D.  Henriques  of  the  crim- 
inal district  court  from  carrying  into  ex- 
ecution a  sentence  of  $25  or  30  days  im- 
posed on  Alfred  Grosz,  proprietor  of  the 
Cortez  theatre,  for  an  alleged  violation  of 
the  lottery  laws,  were  refused  January  3 
by  the  supreme  court. 

In  denying  the  writs  the  court  held  that 
it  would  not  issue  a  writ  to  review  the  facts 
in  a  criminal  prosecution,  or  to  ascertain 
whether  the  facts  justified  a  conviction 
where  no  question  of  law  was  involved. 

The  defendant  alleged  that  the  facts  in 
the  case  did  not  constitute  a  violation  of 
the  Louisiana  lottery  law.  Prizes  were 
given  to  patrons  of  the  theatre  each  night, 
the  patrons  being  given  a  number  which 
entitled  them  to  a  chance  on  the  prizes. 

'However,  according  to  prosecuting  of- 
ficials, the  procedure  is  entirely  legal  if 
numbers  entitling  anyone  to  a  chance  on 
the  prizes  are  distributed  on  the  streets,  to 
passers-by  and  to  residences  and  if  when 
the  drawing  is  held,  the  winning  number  is 
posted  outside  the  theatre  in  case  the 
holder  is  not  in  the  theatre.  According  to 
the  district  attorney's  office,  there  is  an 
element  of  chance  only  when  a  sum  of 
money  is  paid  for  the  privilege  of  compet- 
ing on  a  prize. 


Columbia  Appoints 
William  J,  Morgan 
Sales  Executive 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— William  J.  Mor- 
gan, who  for  many  years  has  been  a  well 
known  figure  in  the  motion  picture  industry, 
has  been  appointed  a 
sales    executive  for 
Columbia,  according 
to  an  announcement 
issued  yesterday. 

Morgan  has  had  a 
varied  as  well  as 
lengthy  experience  in 
the  distribution  phase 
of  motion  pictures. 
For  eight  years  he 
was  in  charge  of  the 
home  office  sales  de- 
partment and  the  con- 
tract department  of 
First  National.  He 
later  became  general  William  j.  Morgan 
sales  manager  of 

Producers  Distributing  Corporation,  now 
Pathe,  and  for  the  last  15  months  has  been 
European  general  manager  for  First  National. 


Exchanges  Launch  Fight 
On  Mutilation  of  Films 
As  Damage  Total  Soars 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
KANSAS  CITY,  Jan.  8.— In  the  last 
several  months  more  film  has  been  returned 
in  a  damaged  condition  by  exhibitors  in 
the  Kansas  City  territory  than  in  the  last 
five  years,  according  to  Leo  J.  Doty,  presi- 
dent of  the  Kansas  City  Film  Board  of 
Trade.  As  a  result  distributors  in  the 
Kansas  City  territory  have  launched  a 
campaign  against  the  mutilation  of  film 
while  in  the  possession  of  exhibitors. 


Washington  State  Exhibitors 
Wait  on  National  Affiliation 

Change  Name  to  Allied  Amusements  of  Northwest,  Elect  Al 
Rosenberg — Pizor  Renominated  at  Philadelphia — Urges 
More  Advertising  in  Trade  Publications 

Two  state  exhibitor  conventions  held  since  Christmas  brought  decisions  of 
national  interest.  The  MPTO  of  Washington,  meeting  at  Seattle,  decided  to 
change  its  name  to  the  Allied  Amusements  of  the  Northwest  and  voted  that  the 
organization  for  the  present  shall  not  join  any  national  exhibitor  body  but  leave 
the  matter  open  until  a  future  session.    Al  Rosenberg  was  named  president. 

Among  the  recommendations  of  Lewen  Pizor,  renominated  for  president  of 
the  MPTO  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware, 
at  a  session  in  Philadelphia,  was  one  that  the  producing  and  distributing  com- 
panies be  urged  to  increase  their  advertising  in  the  trade  publications. 

Bigger  Film  Ad  Budget 
Proposed  by  Lewen  Pizor 

(Srectal  to  the  Herald-World) 

PHILADELPHIA,  Jan.  8— At  the  meet- 
ing of  the  M  P  T  O  of  Eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania, Southern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware 
held  at  the  Elks  Club  December  27,  the 
following  officers  were  renominated:  Presi- 
dent, Lewen  Pizor;  treasurer,  Mike  Lessy; 
secretary,  George  P.  Aarons.  Election  of 
officers  will  be  held  January  17. 

George  Kline  and  Jay  Emanuel,  whose 
terms  on  the  board  of  directors  had  ex- 
pired, were  renominated  and  the  names  of 
Charles  Schisler,  of  the  Stanley  Company, 
and  Harry  Green,  of  Equity  Theatres,  will 
also  appear  on  the  ballots  for  the  three 
vacancies  on  the  board.  Four  vice  presi- 
dents will  also  be  elected  in  January  and 
the  names  of  Walter  Steumpfig,  Floyd  Hop- 
kins, Morris  Wax  and  Will  P.  Cohen  will 
appear  on  the  ballot. 

A  motion  was  made  by  President  Pizor 
that  the  various  film  companies  be  asked 
to  devote  more  money  to  trade  journal 
advertising.  It  was  also  moved  and 
seconded  that  the  by-laws  be  amended  so 
that  nomination  may  be  held  in  January 
and  elections  in  March  in  future.  The  ap- 
plication of  the  Benn  theatre,  Chester,  for 
membership  was  accepted.  Following  the 
regular  business  meeting,  a  buffet  luncheon 
was  served. 

More  than  100  reservations  already  have 
been  received  for  the  annual  banquet  of  the 
MPTO  January  27  at  the  Benjamin 
Franklin  hotel.  The  attendance  will  be 
limited  to  250.  Jay  Emanuel  is  chairman 
of  entertainment  and  Charles  H.  Goodwin 
is  in  charge  of  obtaining  favors  and  other 
novelties. 


Strand  Manager  Transferred 

NEW  ORLEANS.— John  A.  Grower,  for  the  past 
four  years  manager  of  the  Strand  theatre  at  Hat- 
tiesburg,  Mississippi  has  been  transferred  to  Helena, 
Arkansas.  He  will  be  succeeded  by  A.  B.  Jacobs, 
manager  of  the  Majestic  theatre  at  Jackson,  Miss. 


Allied  Amusements  of 
Northwest  Is  New  Name 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

SEATTLE,  Jan.  8.— The  sixth  annual 
convention  of  the  M  P  T  O  of  Washing- 
ton was  a  most  interesting  one-day  session. 
It  was  unanimously  voted  to  change  the 
name  to  the  Allied  Amusements  of  the 
Northwest.  It  was  decided  that  the  unit 
would  not  join  any  national  body  at  pres- 
ent, but  that  the  question  would  be  brought 
up  at  some  future  session. 

The  election  of  trustees  brought  out  the 
nominations  of  Charles  Thall,  West  Coast 
head;  M.  Kenworthy,  Moscow,  Ida.;  K.  L. 
Burk,  Universal  chain  chief;  Ben  Fay,  Ren- 
ton,  Wash.;  John  McGill,  Port  Orchard; 
Ray  Grombacher,  Spokane;  E.  G.  Abbott, 
Sedro-Woolley ;  Cecil  Gwinn,  Ccntralia  and 
Chehalis,  and  F.  C.  Weskil,  Sandpoint, 
Ida. 

Sound  Equipment  Discussed 

As  there  are  four  holdovers,  Grombacher, 
Kenworthy  and  Thall  were  elected  for  the 
three-year  term;  Fay  for  two  years  and 
McGill  for  one  year. 

At  the  invitation  of  the  association, 
sound  equipment  was  discussed  by  Pete 
Carroll,  representing  Phototone;  Art  Kel- 
stad,  inventor  of  Koktaphone,  and  M.  L. 
Quackenbush  of  DeLuxe-Master-Phone. 
200  Attend  Banquet 
A  banquet  was  held  in  the  evening  with 
200  exhibitors  and  their  wives  present. 

The  diners  were  entertained  by  Phil 
Lampkin  and  his  band  from  the  Seattle 
Theatre  and  Georgie-  Stoll  and  his  band 
from  the  Fifth  Avenue;  Varsity  Four  from 
the  Fanchon  &  Marco;  and  three  acts  from 
Hamilton  Douglas'  School. 

Immediately  after  the  supper,  announce- 
ment was  made  by  the  board  that  the  new 
officers  are  Al  Rosenberg,  president;  Leroy 
Johnson,  first  vice  president;  F.  C.  Weskil, 
second  vice  president,  and  James  M.  Hone, 
re-elected  secretary-treasurer. 


Stockholders  Strive  to  Retain  Ascher 

Chain  as  Receiver  Seeks  Right  to  Sell 

Filing  a  bill  of  application  by  the  receiver  in  federal  court  for  the  right  to  dis- 
pose of  the  Ascher  circuit  in  Chicago,  held  and  operated  by  the  Chicago  Title  and 
Trust  Company  since  last  spring,  has  aroused  the  stockholders  to  take  steps  to  re- 
tain their  interest  in  the  properties.  _ 

Plans  of  the  stockholders  have  not  as  yet  taken  definite  form,  it  is  stated,  but  in 
whatever  means  is  adopted,  according  to  Chester  R.  Davis,  officer  in  charge  of  re- 
ceiverships of  the  trust  company,  the  stockholders  will  have  the  aid  of  the  receiver 
in  reclaiming  their  interests.  The  circuit,  one  of  the  first  in  the  country  and  at 
one  time  one  of  the  most  important,  was  declared  solvent  several  months  ago,  but 
upon  failure  of  the  Ascher  Brothers  to  reassume  management,  was  continued  under 
the  direction  of  the  receiver. 

In  the  reorganization  of  the  circuit  it  is  expected  that  Nate  Ascher,  former 
president,  who  holds  the  larger  portion  of  the  stock  owned  by  the  three  brothers, 
will  continue  to  be  identified  with  the  chain,  but  that  Harry  and  Max  Ascher  will 
sever  their  connection. 


36 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


Help  Health  Authorities  Fight  "Flu" 
Sydney  Cohen  Tells  Exhibitors 

Recounts  Experiences  of  New  York  Theatre  Owners  in  1918,  When 
Copeland  Insisted  Houses  Remain  Open — Producers  Provided  Slides 

SERVICE  of  the  theatre  owner  to  the  public  as  well  as  to  himself  in  fight- 
ing further  spread  of  influenza  is  suggested  by  Sydney  S.  Cohen,  former 
president  of  the  M  P  T  O  A,  in  a  letter  to  the  Herald-World  in  which 
he  recounts  the  experience  of  New  York  exhibitors  with  health  authorities  in 
the  epidemic  of  1918. 


A^^HILE  pressure  was  being  brought  to 
*  "  bear  by  other  authorities  to  force  the 
closing  of  the  theatres,  Dr.  Royal  S.  Cope- 
land,  then  commissioner  of  health  of  New 
York  City,  urged  rather  that  the  theatres 
be  kept  open.  With  cooperation  of  the 
producers,  special  trailers  were  made  and 
the  theatres  not  only  remained  open  but 
also  proved  a  tremendous  factor  in  elimi- 
nating the  illness.  How  that  campaign  was 
worked  out  is  detailed  in  Cohen's  letter, 
which  follows: 

"I  read  in  the  Pensacola,  Florida,  news- 
papers of  the  closing  of  all  theatres  and 
schools  by  the  City  Health  Officer  there, 
and  this  action  will  undoubtedly  be  fol- 
lowed in  other  places  throughout  the  coun- 
try, as  happened  in  the  'flu'  epidemic  of 
1918. 

"At  that  time,  when  I  was  active  in  the- 
atre owners  organization  affairs,  I  called  to 
see  Dr.  Royal  S.  Copeland,  then  our  Com- 
missioner of  Health  in  New  York  City,  and 
who  is  now  our  United  States  Senator, 
and  discussed  the  situation  with  him.  Pres- 
sure was  being  brought  to  bear  on  him  to 
close  the  theatres  and  other  places  of  pub- 
lic assembly  in  the  city,  because  of  this 
'flu'  epidemic.  We  suggested  to  him  that 
instead  of  closing  our  theatres,  he  utilize 
our  screens,  theatres,  programs  and  ros- 
trums if  necessary  to  carry  a  message  to 
the  public  to  allay  the  panic  and  fear  en- 
gulfing the  people.  With  the  cooperation 
of  the  producers,  special  trailers  were  made 
and  cartoons  warning  the  people  against 
sneezing,  coughing  and  spitting  in  public 
and  to  use  their  handkerchiefs  and  to  cover 
their  mouths,  and  to  take  other  preventa- 
tive measures. 

Stay  Open,  Says  Copeland 

"Theatres  everywhere  and  places  of  pub- 
lic assembly,  churches,  schools,  etc.,  were 
being  closed,  and  even  the  Surgeon  Gen- 
eral of  Health  at  Washington  was  urging 
this  action. 

"Dr.  Copeland  made  a  public  an- 
nouncement urging  that  these  places 
remain  open,  telling  the  public 
through  our  screens  and  otherwise, 


that  he  believed  it  would  be  far  bet- 
ter to  have  the  places  of  amusement 
continue,  as  it  afforded  relief  and 
recreation  to  the  people  which  they 
needed  so  badly  under  such  circum- 
stances. Two  days  after  this  an- 
nouncement by  Dr.  Copeland,  Wood- 
row  Wilson,  then  President,  while  in 
New  York  on  a  visit  attended  a  pub- 
lic performance  at  the  Liberty  the- 
atre. 

"Our  theatres  remained  open  all  during 
the  'flu'  epidemic.  We  carried  these  mes- 
sages of  health  and  precaution  in  our  pro- 
grams, on  the  screen  and  in  the  weeklies, 
and  it  was  found  after  the  epidemic  had 
subsided  that  New  York  City,  despite  its 
congested  living  conditions,  tenements, 
crowded  subways  and  stores,  had  the  low- 
est death  and  sickness  rate  of  any  city  in 
the  country. 

"This  was  the  strongest  kind  of  an  en- 
dorsement for  the  sanity  and  common 
sense  displayed  at  this  critical  time  by 
Health  Commissioner  Copeland. 

Emphasizes  Theatre  Ventilation 

"Our  experience  here  in  New  York  may 
prove  helpful  to  theatre  owners  and  to  the 
theatre  going  public  elsewhere  if  it  is 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  theatre 
owners.  Conditions  are  bad  enough  as 
they  are  for  exhibitors  and  now  many  of 
them  face  the  closing  of  their  theatres  be- 
cause of  this  epidemic.  Perhaps  the  re- 
printing of  Dr.  Copeland's  message  of  ten 
years  ago  (printed  elsewhere  on  this  page) 
may  prove  helpful.  Ne  doubt  the  thought 
will  present  itself  of  suggesting  to  thea- 
tre owners  the  calling  of  the  attention  of 
their  public  health  authorities  to  the  whole- 
some conditions  surrounding  the  operation 
of  their  theatres  insofar  as  cleanliness,  ven- 
tilation, etc.,  are  concerned,  and  the  invalu- 
able aid  they  can  give  in  carrying  health 
messages  from  these  authorities,  as  well  as 
the  need  that  the  public  has  in  all  times 
of.  panic  for  recreation  under  wholesome 
conditions. 

"It  is  another  real  opportunity  for  the 
industry  to  offer  helpful  public  service." 


Exhibitors  Fear  Gang  Is  Aiming  at  Film 

Theatres  as  Bandits  Attack  3  Houses 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  Jan.  8. — Three  robberies  and  attempted  robberies  of  motion 
picture  houses  in  Northern  California  the  past  few  days,  have  inclined  theatre 
owners  to  the  opinion  that  an  organized  gang  is  at  work. 

Four  youths  staged  a  spectacular  holdup  last  week  at  the  Wilson  theatre  in 
Fresno,  making  away  with  $1,500,  the  day's  receipts.  Two  of  the  bandits  hid  on 
the  mezzanine  floor  and  stopped  Kenneth  Workman,  the  doorman,  and  Miss  Ferne 
Salee,  ticket  seller,  as  they  carried  the  money  to  the  manager's  office.  Workman 
resisted  the  bandits  and  knocked  one  of  them  down,  but  the  other  grabbed  the 
money  and  both  escaped.  Next  day  three  of  the  bandits  were  arrested  at  a  ranch, 
and  the  stolen  money  was  recovered. 

Safecrackers  visited  the  Plaza  theatre  in  Oakland,  during  the  holidays,  knocked 
the  combination  knob  off  the  safe,  and  made  away  with  $80.  The  men  entered  the 
building  through  a  skylight. 

Thieves  gained  an  entrance  to  the  Hayward  theatre  in  Hayward  and  tried  to 
force  the  door  of  the  office  safe  containing  several  hundred  dollars,  but  they  were 
frightened  away. 


Copeland  Announcement 
In  Fight  on  Influenza 

"Commissioner  Copeland  an- 
nounced," writes  Sydney  S.  Cohen, 
"that  theatres  would  remain  open  as 
usual  and  the  public  would  be  edu- 
cated in  fighting  the  disease  through 
slides,  placards  and  announcements 
reading : 

To  prevent  the  spread  of  influenza, 
please  cough  or  expectorate,  if  you 
must,  into  your  handkerchief. 

There  is  no  danger  if  you  heed  this 
warning. 

By  order  of  the  Board  of  Health. 

Royal  S.  Copeland, 
President." 


Radio  Corporation 
Takes  Over  Victor 
TalkingMachineCo. 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— The  acquisition  of 
the  Victor  Talking  Machine  Company  by 
the  powerful  RCA  interests,  announced  in 
these  pages  some  time  ago,  was  effected  this 
week.  The  method  of  acquisition  consisted 
of  giving  one  share  of  new  Radio  common, 
one  share  of  new  5  per  cent  Radio  pref- 
erred, and  $5  in  cash  for  each  share  of 
Victor.  The  plan  was  looked  upon  as  high- 
ly advantageous  to  Victor. 

Under  the  plan,  Radio  stock  was  to  be 
split  five-for-one. 


Theatres  Are  Closed  in 
Four  New  York  Towns 
During  "Flu"  Spread 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
ALBANY,  Jan.  8.— The  present  epidemic 
of  flu  is  raising  havoc  with  the  motion  pic- 
ture theatres  of  New  York  state,  according 
to  reports.  In  four  northern  New  York 
towns,  Brushton,  Redwood,  Alexandria 
Bay  and  Willsboro,  the  theatres  were  closed 
last  week  and  will  remain  so  until  the  pres- 
ent epidemic  ceases.  Some  villages  report 
that  at  least  fifty  per  cent  of  their  resi- 
dents are  ill.  Albany  theatres  played  to 
fair  sized  crowds  last  week,  while  Troy 
showed  a  noticeable  slump. 

Canadian  Famous  Takes 
Over  Three  and  Chain 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
TORONTO,  Jan.  8— Recent  additions  to 
the  coast-to-coast  chain  of  Famous  Players 
Canadian  Corporation  include  the  Capitol 
at  Prince  Rupert,  B.  C,  where  J.  Easson 
is  the  manager;  the  Imperial  and  Crescent 
at  Sarnia,  Ont.,  with  J.  F.  Myers  as  man- 
ager; and  various  houses  of  the  Allen 
Amusement  Enterprises  in  Ontario  towns, 
the  control  of  which  has  been  acquired. 

Joseph  P.  Kennedy  Goes 
To  Florida  for  Vacation 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Joseph  P.  Ken- 
nedy, advisor  to  Pathe,  left  last  Saturday 
for  a  lengthy  vacation  in  Florida.  His 
plans  upon  his  return,  when  his  agreement 
with  Pathe  expires,  are  as  yet  undecided. 

Alberta  Vaughn's  Parents  in  Accident 

NEW  YORK. — Alberta  Vaughn,  who  is  making 
talking  and  singing  sequences  in  a  Tiffany-Stahl  pic- 
ture in  New  York,  received  word  that  her  mother 
and  father  were  seriously  injured  in  an  automobile 

accident. 


Januarv  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


37 


w 


Film  News 
in  Pictures 


PICTORIAL  SECTION 


Stories  Told 
by  the  Camera 


Charles  Rosenzweig.  newly 
appointed  general  sales  man- 
ager of  F  B  O.  Rosenzweig 
succeeds  Lee  Marcus,  now 
vice  president  in  charge  of 
distribution,  the  office  vacated 
bv  President  Schnitzer. 


O.  E.  Goebel,  president  of 
Sono-Art  Productions,  a  new 
organization  in  the  field  of 
audien  production.  The  more 
recent  years  of  Goebel's 
career  have  been  devoted  to 
finance. 
[Photo  by  Muray] 


George  W.  Weeks,  well 
known  in  the  motion  picture 
industry  as  a  result  of  his  ex- 
ecutive attainments  in  film 
affairs,  who  has  been  elected 
vice  president  of  Sono-Art 
Productions. 


Eddie  Dowling.  actor-play- 
wright-producer whose  ven- 
tures have  won  him  a  high 
place  in  current  stage  history 
and  who  will  make  his  first 
audien.  "Broadway  Bound." 
for  Sono-Art. 
[Photo  by  Hal  Phyfe] 


'Way  down  South  in  the  land  o'  cotton  where  the  leisure  of  old  is 
not  forgotten.  King  Vidor  in  such  a  setting  is  an  anachronism, 
but,  we're  told,  'twas  necessary,  this  scene  being  laid  near  Memphis 
where  the  M  G  M  director  shot  sequences  for  "Hallelujah,"  in  which 
all  the  players  are  colored. 


Arriving  for  the  premiere  of  his  latest  directorial  achievement,  which 
enrolled  Fannie  Brice  as  another  stage  star  to  embrace  the  medium 
of  Vitaphone.  .Archie  Mayo  is  shown  with  Mrs.  Mayo  (both  at 
left)  and  friends  at  the  opening  of  "My  Man"  at  the  Warner  the- 
atre in  New  York. 


38 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


The  spirit  of  1929 — the  spirit,  it  would  seem,  of  eternal 
youth,  especially  of  youth  as  it  eternally  is  these  days — 
but  a  spirit  with  much  in  its  favor  when  symbolized  by 
Lina  Basquete,  who  is  presented  above  in  the  spirit 
of  her  new  Columbia  film,  "The  Younger  Generation." 


Pat  Rooney,  Mrs.  Rooney  (Marion 
Bent)  and  Patsy,  famous  vaude- 
villians,  as  recorded  by  the  Herald- 
World  photographer  at  their  hotel 
in  Chicago,  where  they  paused  on 
their  way  to  the  Coast  to  make 
Universal  short  audiens. 


Left:  Once  a  screen  comedian,  al- 
ways a  screen  comedian.  Or  was 
that  said  of  some  other  vocation? 
No  matter,  it  is  applicable  to  Cliff 
Bowes,  veteran  comic  who  has  re- 
turned to  Educational  to  play 
featured  roles  in  Cameo  one-reel 
comedies. 


A  wreath  for  Leo,  M  G  M's  renowned  representative  of  the  cat  family,  as  he  arrives 
in  Atlanta  on  his  tour  of  the  world.  Leo  is  spending  the  winter  in  the  Southland, 
where  his  receptions  have  been  notably  like  the  climate.  Tom  James,  manager  of 
Loew's  Capitol  in  Atlanta,  and  Captain  Phillips,  trainer,  are  shown  decorating  Leo 
upon  his  new  triumph. 


Fame,  apparently,  has  pointed  at  Jane 
Daly,  who  has  stepped  out  of  the  ranks 
to  take  an  important  role  in  M  G  M's 
"The  Mysterious  Island,"  Jules  Verne 


romance. 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


39 


A  new  chief  to  confer  with  has 
Cecil  B.  DcMille.  who  is  shown 
talking  over  his  first  M  G  M  con- 
tribution, "Dynamite."  with  Louis 
B.  Mayer,  vice  president  in  charge 
of  production  of  M  G  M,  in  the 
latter's  office  at  the  studio. 


Right:  A  new  portrait  of  Greta 
Garbo  which  emphasizes  the  cast 
of  feature  distinguishing  her  Scan- 
dinavian beauty.  Miss  Garbo's 
latest  production  is  M  G  M's  "A 
Woman  of  Affairs."  in  which,  of 
course,  she  is  co-starred  with  John 
Gilbert. 


At  home  with  her  pets.  Louise  Fazenda  is  shown  with 
Black  and  White,  two  puppies  which,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  our  dog  expert  is  out  to  lunch,  we  can  only  classify 
as  belonging  to  the  cute  family.  Miss  Fazenda  is  now- 
working  in  Warner  Brothers"  "The  Desert  Song." 


H.  B.  Warner,  who  seems  to  be  climb- 
ing to  still  greater  heights  in  his  long 
career,  has  a  character  role  in  Warner 
Brothers'  timely  story  of  the  Antarctic. 
"Conquest." 


W'ill  we  "chance  cars"  in  this  fashion  some  dav?  For  the  present,  however,  let  such 
transfers  be  restricted  to  hardv  fellows  like  Reed  Howes,  who  is  shown  in  a  midair 
scene  from  Educational*  "The  Air  Derby."  new  production  in  the  "Russ  Farrell. 
Aviator"  series  of  short  thrillers,  starring  Howes.    Lieut.  Earl  Robinson  is  the  pilot 

of  the  upper  plane. 


40 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929' 


Does  Personality  Count  in  Managing  New  Batch  of  Girls 
Theatre?  Read  About  Qarrityl 


He  Always  Stayed  in  Background  Until  His  Man  Friday  Failed  to  Appear 

— Now  He's  on  Stage  Daily 
[By  Special  Correspondent  of  the  Herald-World] 

BOSTON,  Jan.  8. — Personality  counts  in  every  sphere  of  life.  That's 
what  Ed  C.  Garrity,  manager  of  the  Columbia  theatre,  has  recently  found. 
Garrity  has  always  been  an  aggressive  exhibitor.  He  has  kept  abreast 
of  the  times  in  providing  entertainment,  but,  until  comparatively  recently,  he 
did  this  unobtrusively.  If  it  were  necessary  to  have  somebody  on  the  stage  as 
a  master  of  ceremonies,  he  engaged  a  professional  to  fulfill  this  role.  If  he 
wished  to  broadcast  news  of  important  developments  in  the  Columbia  theatre 
and  program,  he  hired  somebody  familiar  with  public  appearances. 

A small  man,  in  height  and  weight,  the 
exhibitor  kept  himself  in  the  background. 
The  last  thing  in  the  world  he  had  was  IT 
he  thought.  But  one  nigiht  his  Man  Friday 
failed  to  appear,  to  take  charge  of  a  special 
contest.  Garrity  was  in  a  quandary.  As  a 
final  resort,  he  went  on  the  stage  and  took 
charge  of  the  action  there,  serving  as  an- 
nouncer. 

This  experience  convinced  him  that 
he  should  come  into  the  open  more 
and  talk  to  the  patrons.  Although 
he  spoke  on  the  stage  in  only  a  con- 
versational tone,  he  planted  himself 
right  on  the  footlights,  in  order  to  put 
his  talk  over  effectively.  His  was  a 
talk  of  one  friend  to  a  group.  He  ex- 
plained the  contest.  Live  animals  and 
birds  were  to  be  awarded  the  contest 
winners. 

The  average  announcer  would  allow 
everybody  to  come  up  on  the  stage  to  col- 
lect the  awards,  but  Garrity  used  better 
judgement.  The  men,  boys  and  young  girls, 
he  invited  to  go  on  the  stage,  via  a  flight 
of  stairs,  and  get  what  they  won.  However, 
if  a  woman  of  mature  years  and  refinement 
proved  a  winner,  she  went  only  as  far  as 
the  orchestra  pit,  being  told  to  go  around 
to  the  stage  and  get  her  trophy.  It  was 
realized  by  this  exhibitor  that  squawking  of 
the  animals  and  birds  would  be  humiliating 
to  some  of  those  who  won  them  if  the  crea- 
tures had  to  be  carried  through  the  crowded 
house. 

Twice  a  Day  Appearance  Now 

This  adventure  on  the  stage  resulted  in 
Garrity  making  practically  twice  a  day  ap- 
pearances in  front  of  the  customers.  He 
takes  his  patrons  into  his  confidence  in 
outlining  plans  for  the  future  at  the  Colum- 
bia. He  thanks  the  customers  for  coming; 
he  stresses  his  desire  to  have  all  the  mod- 
ern devices  of  motion  picture  theatres,  and 


Hoodlums'  Fight  Stops 
New  Year  Midnight  Show 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

Ottawa,  Jan.  8. — Because  of  the  ac- 
tion of  hoodlums  in  the  audience,  the 
gala  midnight  performance  on  New 
Year's  Eve  at  B.  F.  Keith's  theatre, 
came  to  an  untimely  and  unfortunate 
close.  Revelers  broke  up  the  show 
and  refused  to  calm  down  when  ap- 
peals were  made  by  Manager  J.  M. 
Franklin.  The  police  appeared  on 
the  scene  and  Manager  Franklin 
eventually  rang  down  the  asbestos 
curtain.  Further  trouble  was  en- 
countered when  rowdies  demanded 
their  money  back  in  the  lobby. 

The  morning  papers  carried  a 
statement  from  the  theatre,  coupled 
with  the  offer  of  tickets  for  regular 
performances  in  exchange  for  mid- 
night show  tickets. 


pledges  himself  to  install  these  just  as  soon 
as  business  warrants.  The  personal  angle  is 
now  the  outstanding  element  in  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Columbia.  There  is  no  affec- 
tation on  Garrity's  part  and  no  frills.  He 
came  out  in  an  ordinary  sack  suit,  and 
simplicity  is  the  keynote  of  his  vocabulary. 
Service  with  a  Smile 
Here  is  a  sample  of  his  talks,  delivered 
on  the  service  with  a  smile  theory: 

"Friends,  I  would  like  to  thank  you  for 
your  patronage,  which  is  increasing  every 
day.  For  the  last  three  weeks  we  did  rec- 
ord breaking  business  here,  at  the  Colum- 
bia. I  would  like  to  see  this  patronage 
continued,  for  there  are  a  number  of  things 
I  would  like  to  have  here  for  you.  I'm  now 
eager  to  get  even  better  pictures,  and  to 
have  all  the  modern  devices  for  picture  en- 
tertainment. 

"And,  if  you  continue  to  show  your 
appreciation  of  what  I've  been  doing, 
I  can  promise  you  a  lot  more  for  your 
money   than   you   are   now  getting, 
which  you  may  think  is  pretty  near 
the  limit.     I  have  been  very  much 
pleased  at  the  increase  in  patronage, 
and  I  can  assure  you  I  appreciate  your 
interest.    I'm  here  to  show  the  pic- 
tures you  want,  and  if  you  will  tell  me 
what  you  prefer,  I  will  do  my  best  to 
put  these  films  in  this  house. 
"As  it  is  now  I  have  the  first  run  of  the 
pictures  in  the  south  end.    Now,  in  this  con- 
nection,  I  would  like  to  tell  you  about 
several  pictures  I  have  booked  for  next 
week.    (He  then  discusses  the  good  points 
of  feature  films  to  be  shown  at  the  Colum- 
bia the  following  week,  with  days  and  dates 
stressed.) 

There  are  complete  changes  of  program 
Sunday,  Tuesday,  Thursday  and  Saturday. 
Garrity  is  a  firm  believer  in  stage  attrac- 
tions as  business  builders,  and  on  Sundays, 
he  presents  four  vaudeville  acts,  a  jazz  unit 
and  a  song  revue,  with  community  singing. 

When  vaudeville  acts  need  better  scenic 
environment  than  is  possible  at  the  Colum- 
bia, Garrity  points  out  to  the  audience  that 
the  acts  are  handicapped  because  of  the  lack 
of  equipment,  and  asks  the  audience  to  re- 
member this. 

He  frequently  arranges  for  Saturday 
morning  matinees  and  special  treats  on 
holidays  for  boys  and  girls.  These  treats 
consist  of  pictures  and  distribution  of  candy 
and  novelties.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  the  Columbia  is  favored  with  more 
patronage  of  boys  and  girls  than  the  aver- 
age theatre. 

Everybody  has  a  mannerism  that  is  a 
characteristic.  The  outstanding  mannerism 
of  this  exhibitor  while  he  is  speaking  on 
the  stage  is  to  finger  his  watchchain.  On 
one  occasion  he  forgot  the  chain  and  kept 
fingering  the  vacancy.  This  brought  a 
laugh  from  the  audience,  in  which  Garrity 
heartily  joined. 

If  you  were  to  analyze  Garrity's  philoso- 
phy now  you  could  put  it  all  in  two  words 
— Be  yourself! 


To  Visit  Studioland 
As  Pick  ford  Guests 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Twenty-four 
newspapers  in  as  many  cities  and  in  nine- 
teen states,  have  tied  up  with  the  Mary 
Pickford  unit  and  United  Artists  in  a 
nation-wide  "Coquette"  popularity  contest 
that  will  send  24  winning  girls  and  24 
newspaper  writers  to  Hollywood  as  guests 
of  Miss  Pickford.  "Coquette"  is  Miss  Pick- 
ford's  new  production.  These  24  news- 
papers have  a  total  circulation  of  5,211,883, 
it  is  stated,  and  they  are  located  in  cities 
with  an  aggregate  population  of  19,131,472. 
Ten  more  cities  are  covered  this  year  than 
were  embraced  in  the  similar  "My  Best 
Girl"  stunt  last  year.  The  contests  are  Vic- 
tor Shapiro's  idea. 

First  announcement  of  the  "Coquette 
Caravan"  contests  will  be  made  simultane- 
ously in  the  24  cities  on  Thursday,  and  the 
contests  will  be  conducted  from  January 
14  to  January  27,  with  the  party  of  girls 
leaving  Chicago  February  9  on  a  special 
Santa  Fe  train  that  will  arrive  in  Holly- 
wood February  12.  Cities  and  newspapers 
embraced  are:  The  Georgian,  Atlanta;  Press, 
Cleveland;  Post,  Cincinnati;  American,  Chi- 
cago ;  Times,  Detroit ;  Post,  Denver ;  Dispatch, 
Dallas;  News,  Indianapolis;  Courier-Journal, 
Louisville;  Press-Scimitar,  Memphis;  Mirror, 
New  York ;  World-Herald,  Omaha ;  Press, 
Pittsburgh ;  News,  Philadelphia ;  Herald, 
Syracuse;  Star,  St.  Louis;  Bulletin,  San  Fran- 
cisco; News-Bee,  Toledo;  Post,  Washington; 
News,  Buffalo ;  Herald-Traveler,  Boston ;  Post, 
Baltimore ;  States,  New  Orleans,  and  the 
Post,  Birmingham. 

Girls  between  the  ages  of  18  and  25  are 
to  be  chosen  as  guests  of  Mary  Pickford 
for  one  week. 


F  B  O  Signs  Luther  Reed 
And  Henry  Hobart  as 
Associate  Producers 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Luther  Reed  and 
Henry  Hobart  have  been  signed  as  asso- 
ciate producers  at  the  F  B  O's  studios, 
where  preparations  are  in  progress  for  the 
filming  of  the  company's  1929-30  program. 

Reed  and  Hobart  are  both  veterans  in 
the  motion  picture  field.  Reed's  latest  ex- 
perience was  the  direction  of  "Hell's 
Angels."  Hobart  comes  from  the  First  Na- 
tional studios  where  he  directed  "Out  Of 
the  Ruins,"  "Wheel  of  Chance,"  and  "Little 
Shepard  of  Kingdom  Come."  He  also  has 
many  more  creditable  pictures  on  his  list. 


Warners  Launch  National 
Advertising  for  "My  Man" 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— In  order  that  ex- 
hibitors may  benefit  directly  from  their  na- 
tional advertising,  Warner  Brothers  are  ar- 
ranging their  schedules  in  200  newspapers 
to  coincide  closely  with  local  playdates. 
Two  full  page  ads  will  appear  in  various 
newspapers  in  different  cities  with  the  pre- 
miere on  Fannie  Brice's  "My  Man." 


2  Dupont  Productions  to 
Be  Brought  to  America 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— "Piccadilly,"  a 
picture  completed  by  Gilda  Grey  in  London 
before  returning  to  America,  will  be 
brought  to  America  by  World  Wide  Pic- 
tures. "Moulin  Rouge,"  another  European 
picture,  directed  by  E.  A.  Dupont,  will  also 
be  imported  by  World  Wide. 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS    H  ERA LD- WORLD 


41 


Ben  Hecht  (left)  and  Charles  MacArthur 
fright  J,  playnrights  uho  wrote  "The  Front 
Page"  are  signed  by  Joseph  I.  Schnitzer,  presi- 
dent of  FBO.  to  urite  a  story  apiece.  Hecht  s 
*tor\,  "L  pperuorld."  is  nou-  in  work,  unite  Mac- 
Arthur's  is  as  yet  untitled. 

Devereux  Made  Head  of 
Electrical  Research  Work 
On  Instructive  Audiens 

F.  L.  Devereux,  vice  president  of  the 
Bell  Telephone  Securities  Company,  has 
been  made  general  manager  of  the  de- 
partment of  educational  talking  pictures,  in 
the  Electrical  Research  Products  organiza- 
tion, according  to  an  announcement  by 
Western  Electric.  Devereux's  work  will 
relate  to  the  development  of  sound  pictures 
in  fields  other  than  those  of  amusement. 

Except  for  the  period  of  the  World  War. 
during  which  he  rose  to  the  rank  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel,  Devereux  has  been 
continuously  associated  with  the  Bell  Tele- 
phone System  since  1903.  For  a  number 
of  years  he  has  held  executive  positions  in 
the  Bell  System  in  Washington,  D.  C,  of 
which  city  he  is  a  native;  in  Philadelphia, 
Omaha,  Neb.,  and  finally  in  New  York, 
where  for  the  past  seven  years  he  has  been 
associated  with  the  Bell  Telephone  Securi- 
ties Company. 


"Flu"  Closes  2  Saenger 
Theatres  in  Mississippi 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

GULFPORT,  MISS.,  Jan.  8.— The 
Strand  and  Anderson  theatres  operated  by 
the  Saenger  Amusement  Company  closed 
their  doors  last  week  on  the  initiative  of 
the  local  manager  Joseph  J.  Levy  and  will 
not  reopen  for  several  days  on  account  of 
the  prevalence  of  the  flue  in  this  section. 


Barrymores  on  Honeymoon 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

LOS  ANGELES,  Jan.  8.— John  Barry- 
more  and  his  bride  Dolores  Costello  sailed 
from  Los  Angeles  on  a  belated  honey- 
moon. They  are  to  be  back  in  Warner 
Brothers  studio  in  the  early  part  of  Febru- 
ary. 


F  BO  Signs  Betty  Compson 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— William  LeBaron, 
vice  president  of  F  B  O  productions  an- 
nounces that  he  has  signed  Betty  Compson 
to  appear  in  4  F  B  O  super-productions. 


David  Lee  on  Radio 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,    Jan.    8.— David  Lee, 
\\  arner  Brother's  3-year  old  star,  made  his 
first  radio  appearance  last  week  over  Radio 
station  KFWB. 


Hecht  and  MacArthur  Signed 
To  Write  Originals  for  FBO 

Each  of  Co-Authors  of  "The  Front  Page"  Will  Pen  Storv  for 
1929-30  Production — Hecht  Already  Working  on 
"Upperworld" — New  Stroke  by  Schnitzer 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Ben  Hecht  and  Charles  MacArthur,  playwrights, 
novelists  and  co-authors  of  "The  Front  Page?"  Broadway  stage  success,  have 
been  signed  by  Joseph  I.  Schnitzer,  president  of  FBO  Productions,  as  a  fur- 
ther indication  of  the  steps  being  taken  by  F  B  O  in  a  great  expansion  program 
for  1929-30. 

Each  of  the  playwrights  will  write  an  original  story  for  FBO.  Hecht  al- 
ready has  in  work  "Upperworld,"  and  MacArthur  is  to  start  soon  on  his  story, 
as  vet  untitled. 


Hecht  started  his  career  in  Chicago  as  city 
editor  and  managing  editor  of  the  Chicago 
Journal  and  Chicago  Daily  News,  and  during 
the  war  was  transferred  to  the  Berlin  offices 
of  the  Chicago  Daily  Nezcs  as  war  correspond- 
ent. In  1923  he  founded  and  published  the 
Chicago  Literary  Times. 

He  is  an  unusually  prolific  writer,  having 
written,  published  and  produced  twelve  nov- 
els and  plays  since  1921,  among  them  the 
famous  "Erik  Dorn."  His  other  novels  in- 
clude "Gargoyles,"  "Fantazius  Mallare," 
"The  Florentine  Dagger,"  "1001  Afternoons 
in  Chicago"  and  "Count  Bruga."  His  plays 
include  "The  Egotist,"  in  which  the  late 
Leo  Ditrichstein  starred;  "The  Kingdom  of 
Evil,"  "The  Wonder  Hat"  and  "The  Front 
Page,"  written  in  collaboration  with  Mac- 
Arthur,  which  is  playing  at  the  Times 
Square,  New  York.  Hecht  also  authored 
the  film  success  "Underworld." 

MacArthur  is  equally  famous  as  a  play- 
wright. He  is  co-author  of  the  David  Be- 
lasco-Lenore  Ulric  success,  "Lulu  Belle," 
and  also  authored  "Salvation"  in  collabora- 
tion with  Sidney  Howard.  He  is  the  hus- 
band of  Helen  Hayes,  star  of  "Coquette." 

Work  on  the  Hecht  and  MacArthur  vehi- 
cles will  be  commenced  at  the  FBO  studios 
in  Hollywood  as  soon  as  the  authors  have 
completed  their  scripts. 

Since  his  election  to  the  presidency  of 
FBO  Productions  four  weeks  ago,  Schnit- 
zer has  been  in  constant  negotiation  with 
leading  Broadway  producers,  playwrights 
and  novelists.  Two  days  after  his  election 
he  purchased  the  screen  rights  of  Florenz 
Ziegfeld's  musical  success,  "Rio  Rita."  Pro- 
duction on  this  talking  and  singing  feature 
with  the  original  "Rio  Rita"  company  will 
be  started  at  the  FBO  studios. 


William  Fox's  "In  Old  Arizona,"  sent  the 
following  telegram  to  Harold  B.  Franklin, 
president  of  West  Coast  Theatres,  Inc. 

"Please  convey  to  William  Fox  my 
heartiest  congratulations  on  'In  Old  Ari- 
zona.' I  saw  it  at  the  premiere  here  at 
the  5th  Avenue  theatre  and  it  has  made  a 
picture  fan  of  me.  'In  Old  Arizona'  is  all 
and  more  than  is  claimed  for  it  and  it  is  the 
finest  screen  production  I  ever  saw.  The 
Movietone  brings  truthful  and  natural 
sound  and  voice  to  the  screen  at  last.  This 
is  a  great  triumph  for  the  speaking  screen 
and  vour  industrv." 


Cleve  Adams  Is  Appointed 
N.  Y .  State  Sales  Manager 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Cleve  Adams, 
veteran  in  the  motion  picture  industry  was 
appointed  New  York  state  sales  manager, 
according  to  announcement  by  Charles 
Rosenzweig,  general  sales  manager  of 
FBO. 

Adams  started  his  film  career  as  a  sales- 
man with  Universal  14  years  ago.  He  was 
later  appointed  branch  manager.  He  re- 
mained with  Universal  eight  years  and  then 
was  employed  by  FBO  as  district  man- 
ager. Last  year  he  was  appointed  short 
subject  manager  and  held  that  position  un- 
til his  last  assignment. 


Seattle  Business  Leader 
Lauds  "In  Old  Arizona" 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

SEATTLE,  WASH.,  Tan.  8.— E.  H. 
Hatch,  president  of  the  Seattle  Chamber 
of    Commerce,   after   seeing  and  hearing 


Police  Hold  3  Youths  in 

Robbery  Plot  Inquiry 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

SOUTH  BEND,  IND.,  Jan.  8.— Three 
youths  who  are  alleged  to  have  planned  to 
hold  up  the  Strand  theatre  on  South  Michi- 
gan street  here,  are  being  held  in  Indian- 
apolis in  default  of  bonds  on  charges  of 
conspiracy  to  commit  a  felony.  They  are 
Hubert  Hamilton,  brother  of  Betty  Hamil- 
ton, cashier  at  the  theatre;  Joseph  Car- 
michael  and  William  Cosgrove,  all  of 
Indianapolis. 


Lo,  the  Poor  Indian  Is  First  Convicted 

In  One  Year  of  Stench  Bomb  Outrages 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

KOKOMO.  Ind.,  Jan.  8. — Busy  Allen,  a  half-breed  Indian  of  Tulsa,  Okla.,  has 
been  convicted  in  city  court  here  of  placing  stench  bombs  in  a  local  theatre.  He 
was  fined  $25  and  costs  and  sentenced  to  120  days  on  the  state  penal  farm. 

The  conviction  is  the  first  the  state  has  been  able  to  get  following  a  series  of 
attacks  on  local  motion  picture  theatres  for  almost  a  year.  Ill-smelling  liquids 
have  been  poured  inside  practically  every  theatre  in  the  city,  alleged  to  be  the 
outgrowth  of  labor  trouble  between  operators  and  theatre  owners. 

Fred  C.  Blacker,  local  motion  picture  machine  operator,  accused  of  complicity 
in  the  crime,  was  acquitted  when  Allen  refused  to  testify  against  him  or  to  identify 
him  as  the  man  who  employed  him  to  come  here  from  Chicago  to  plant  the  fluid 
in  the  Isis  theatre. 


42 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


SOUND  PICTURES 


Western  Electric  Installations  Pass  Thousand 

Mark  in  December 


w 


(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8. — The  number  of  Western  Electric  sound  equipments  in 
American  theatres  passed  the  thousand  mark  with  the  turn  of  the  year.  An\ 
official  announcement  stated  that  169  installations  were  made  during  December, 
bringing  the  total  up  to  1,046. 

Installations  are  now  being  made  regularly  and  it  is  expected  that  the  speed 
with  which  sound  equipment  is  being  installed  will  be  accelerated. 


[Theatres  in  which  Western  Electric 
sound  projector  equipment,  all  both  film 
and  disc,  was  installed  during  the  four 
weeks  in  December  ending  with  Satur- 
day, December  29:] 

Seats 


Palace    theatre,    Muscatine,    Iowa   751 

Princess,  Springfield,   111  _  1,086 

Keith    Albee,    Huntington,    W.   Va  2,860 

Capitol,  Wheeling,  W.  Va  2,800 

Revere,  Revere,  Mass  1,714 

Mesa,  Los  Angeles,  Cal  ~  ~  1,459 

Peoples,   Chanute,   Kansas  _   935 

Arcadia,  Temple,  Texas  _   936 

State,    Winona,    Minn  1,200 

State,   Eau  Clair,  Wis  _  1,252 

Virginian,   Charleston,   W.   Va   954 

Lincoln,   Massillon,   Ohio  „   960 

Alcyon,  Highland  Park,  111  1,186 

Garrick,   Virginia,   Minn  _:  „   750 

Chateau  Dodge,  Rochester,  Minn  1,492 

State,  Allentown,   Pa  1,400 

Sherman,  St.  Cloud,  Minn  1,635 

Allegheny,    Philadelphia,    Pa  2,873 

Ideal,  Baltimore,  Md   499 

Colonial,    Harrisburg,    Pa  1,176 


Retlaw,    Fond  du  Lac,   Wis  1,126 

Colney,  Philadelphia,  Pa    1,956 

Florida,   St.   Petersburg,   Fla  2,340 

Park,  Waukesha,  Wis    875 

Mattoon,  Mattoon,  111  1,000 

Regent,   Jackson,    Mich   796 

Columbia,  Seattle,  Wash  1,101 

Uptown,  Kansas  City,  Mo  2,050 

State,   Altoona,    Pa  1,992 

Rialto,  Minneapolis,  Minn   760 

Oxford,   St.   Paul,   Minn  1,116 

Pantages,    Portland,   Oregon  1,724 

Pantages,    Seattle,    Wash  1,470 

New  Grand,  Moberly,  Mo   876 

Jeffrey,  Janesville,   Wis  1,054 

Embassy,  Easton,  Pa  1,150 

Polk,    Lakeland,    Fla  1,800 

Homewood,    Minneapolis,    Minn   888 

Keith   Fordham,   New  York,   N.  Y  2,415 

Tampi,  Tampa,   Fla  1,554 


Keith  Regent,   New  York,  N.  Y  1,815 

Merrill,    Milwaukee,    Wis  1,270 

Arcadia,    Harlingen,   Texas  1,020 

Palace,  Jacksonville,  Fla  1,867 

North  Park,   Buffalo,  N.  Y  1,442 

Harris  Grand,  Bloomington,  Ind  1,285 

Lyric,  Gastonia.  N.  C   626 

Lyceum,  Los  Angeles,  Cal   926 

Boulevard,  Los  Angeles.  Cal  2,164 

Egyptian,    Hollywood,    Cal  1,774 

Century,   Buffalo,   N.   Y  3,087 

•    #  * 

Capitol,    Somerville,    Mass  1,777 

Grand,    Columbus,    Ga   754 

Plaza,  Paris,  Texas   659 

Majestic,    Kankakee,    111  _   914 

Fairfax,  Miami,  Fla  1,509 

Empire,    Montgomery,   Ala  1,000 

Community,  Miami  Beach,  Fla   702 

Liberty,    Cumberland,    Md  1,150 

Beau   Arts,   Palm   Beach,   Fla   428 

Washington,   Granite  City,   III  1,578 

Strand,   Lexington,   Ky  1,177 

Irving,   Wilkes  Barre,    Pa  1,519 

Lincoln,  Trenton,  N.  J  2,306 


Liberty,    Puyallup,    Wash   603 

Garden,   Cleveland,   Ohio  1,376 

El    Portal,    Lankershim,    Cal  1,346 

Carmel,   Hollywood,  Cal  -  1,096 

Kisco,  Mt.  Kisco,  If.  Y   702 

Lucas,    Savannah,    Ga  1,836 

Wilson,  Wilson,  N.  C   975 

Broadburst,  High  Point,  N.  C   771 

Diamond,    Philadelphia,    Pa   927 

Boyds,    Philadelphia,    Pa...  -  2,338 

Venetian,   Milwaukee,  Wis  1,159 

Indiana,  Bedford,  Ind  -  1,002 

Alcazar,  Bell,  Cal  1,376 

Granada,  Inglewood,  Cal  1,171 

Highland,   Los   Angeles,   Cal  1,450 

Keith,    North    Platte,    Neb   714 

Majestic,   Austin,   Tex  1,311 

Strand,    Shreveport,    La  2,017 

Whiteside,    Corvallis,    Ore  1,109 

*    *  * 

Empress,    Kearney,    Neb  —  844 

Coliseum,  Seattle,   Wash  _  .2,041 

Rivoli,  Los  Angeles,  Cal   870 

Judith,    Lewiston,    Mont   737 

Orpheum,  Phoenix,  Ariz  ~  1,684 

El   Monterey,   San   Luis  Obispo,  Cal   677 

Haines,    Waterville,    Me  1.194 

Hippodrome,    Taft,    Cal  -  1,698 

Edwards,    Sarasota,    Fla  _  1,581 

Lyceum,   Duluth,   Minn  _  1,379 

Northshore,   Gloucester,   Mass  1,138 

Loew's  Valentine,  Toledo,  Ohio  1,452 

Strand,    Cincinnati,    Ohio.—  1,419 

Paramount,  Palm  Beach,  Fla  1,231 

E.  F.  Albee,  Cincinnati,  Ohio  3,266 


Smoot,  Parkersburg,  W.  Va. 
Boulevard,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Regal,  Chicago,  111. 
New  Frolic,  Jacksonville,  Fla. 
Fisher,  Detroit,  Mich. 
Colonial,  Bethlehem,  Pa. 
Congress,  Bronx,  N.  Y. 
Rialto,  Champaign,  111. 
Riviera,  Scranton,  Pa. 
Ames,  Ames,  Iowa. 
Lyric,   Duluth,  Minn. 
Vernon,  Columbus,  Ohio. 
Electric,  Kansas  City,  Kans. 
State,   Sandusky,  Ohio. 
Capitol,  Rome,  N.  Y. 
Capitol,  Everett,  Mass. 
New  Plaza,  Detroit,  Mich. 
Kettler,  Palm  Bearh.  Fla. 
Adams,  Detroit,  Mich. 
Regent.  Muskegon,  Mich. 
Keith   Royal,   Bronx,   N.  Y. 
Capitol,  Lansing,  Mich. 
Pantages,   Minneapolis,  Minn. 
Broadway  Strand,  Chicago,  111. 
Strand,  Oswego,  N.  Y. 
Gladwin   Pk.,   Detroit,  Mich. 
Broadway,   Springfield,  Mass. 
Victory,  Holyoke,  Mass. 
Strand,  Quincy,  Mass. 
Capitol,  Manitowoc,  Wis. 
Powhattan,  Maplewood,  Mo. 
Hollywood.  Detroit,  Mich. 
Forest,   Forest  Park,  111. 
Gastonia,  Gastonia,  N.  C. 
Harris  So.  Hills,  Dormont,  Pa. 
Capitol,  Shenandoah,  Pa. 
Washington.  Bay  City,  Mich. 
Calvin,  Northampton,  Mass. 
Ritz,  Tulsa,  Okla. 


Riviera,  Chicago,  III. 
Rialto,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Capitol,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Globe,  Boston,  Mass. 
Palace,  Pittsfield,  Mass. 
Victoria,  Harrisburg,  Pa. 
State,  Reading,  Pa. 
Alhambra,  Cannonsburg,  Pa. 

#    •  * 

Strand,  Binghamton,  N.  Y. 
New,  Staunton,  Va. 
Capitol,  Reading,  Pa. 
Empress,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Capitol,  York,  Pa. 
Colonial,  Akron,  Ohio. 
Oak  Park,  Oak  Park,  111. 
State,  Chicago,  111. 
Tower,  Chicago,  111. 
Maryland,  Chicago,  111. 
Tivoli,  Downers  Grove,  111. 
Convent  Gardens,  Chicago,  111. 
Strand,  Westfield,  Mass. 

Sheridan  Sq.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Loew's  Valencia,  Jamaica,  L.  I. 
Carlton,  Red  Bank,  N.  J. 
Strand,  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J. 
Enright,  E.  Liberty,  Pa. 
State,  So.  Manchester,  Conn. 
Strand,   Plainfield,   N.  J. 
Metro,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Colonial,  Norwich,  N.  Y. 
Embassy,  Lewiston,  Pa. 
Garden,  Davenport,  Pa. 
Broadway,   Council   Bluffs,  la. 


[Theatres  in  zvhich  non-synchronous  West- 
ern Electric  equipment  was  installed  during 
the  four  'weeks  in  December  ending  with  Sat- 
urday, December  29:] 

Seats 

North  Park.  Buffalo,  N.  Y  1,442 

Strand,  Parkersburg,  W.  Va  -   870 

Murry,   Ponca   City,   Okla   950 

Roxy,  Maple  Shade,  N.  J   776 

Arcadia,    Baytown,    Texas  _  —   635 

Majestic,  Perth  Amboy,   N.  J  1,966 

Charlotte,   Charlotte,   N.   C  -   499 

White  Palace,  Chicago,  111  -.  — .  721 

Birmingham,    Birmingham,    Mich   1,401 

California,   Chicago,  111  -   682 

Royal  Oak,  Royal  Oak,  Mich  -  1,734 

Marlowe,  Jackson,  Tenn  -   988 

Strand,    Pittsfield,    Mass  -   799 

Gem,   Willimantic,  Conn  —  —  787 

Fox,  Burlington,   N.  J   892 

Rialto,  Lowell,   Mass  _  _  1,050 

Palace,  Breckenridge,  Tex   492 

Ward,  Bronx,  N.  Y  1,869 

Arcade,  Paducah,  Ky   940 

Rialto,    Brockton,    Mass  1,178 

Bedford,    Detroit,    Mich...._  _...2,201 

State,  Raleigh,  N.   C...._  -  1.434 

Star,    Westbrook,    Me  -   800 


[Theatres  already  having  some  type  of 
Western  Electric  sound  projector  equipment 
to  which  film  or  non-synchronous  attachments 
were  added  during  the  four  iveeks  in  Decem- 
ber ending  with  Saturday,  December  29:] 

Seats 

State,   Hibbing,   Minn  _  884 

Olympia,    Boston,    Mass  -  1,973 

Franklin,    Saginaw,   Mich  1,300 

Grand,    Marshall,    Texas  ---.1.001 

Savoy,    Bethlehem,    Penna  1,040 

Garrick,  Virginia,  Minn     750 

Rialto,   Minneapolis,   Minn  —  760 

Rexy,   Philadelphia,   Pa  2,000 

Clinton,  New  York,  N.  Y  _  1,195 

Regent,  Battle  Creek,  Mich   943 

Majestic,   Houston,   Tex  _  _  _  2,140 

Sunrise,    Ft.    Pierce,    Fla  1,100 

Mayfair.   Asbury   Park,   N.   J._  1,784 

Lyric,   Springfield,   111   591 

Majestic,  San  Antonio,  Tex  1,893 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


43 


Paramount  Doubles  Equipment 
At  Long  Island  Sound  Studio 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  J  an.  8. — Paramount  and  engineers  of  Electrical  Research 
Products  have  doubled  the  sound  recording  equipment  at  Long  Island  studio 
of  the  producing  company,  and  a  third  sound  channel  for  recording  musical 
scores  will  be  completed  in  a  few  weeks.  John  W.  Butler,  executive  manager  of 
the  studio,  declared  today. 


Airplane  Contest 
Is  Only  Part  of 
"Lilac  Time  99  Drive 

A  model  airplane  contest  was  staged  by 
Ray  C.  Brown,  manager  of  the  Strand, 
Akron,  Ohio,  with  the  publisher  of  the  Akron 
Beacon-Journal,  in  connection  with  the  show- 
ing of  First  National's  Colleen  Moore's 
"Lilac  Time"  at  his  theatre. 

The  Beacon-Journal  has  been  promoting  the 
making  of  miniature  airplanes,  capable  of 
actual  flight,  and  a  number  of  model  air- 
plane meets  have  been  held  in  Akron.  Brown 
offered  a  total  of  $50.00  in  cash  prizes  for 
the  designers  of  the  model  airplanes  which 
remained  longest  in  the  air.  The  first  prize 
was  $25  in  cash,  the  second.  $10,  and  the 
third,  $5,  with  ten  prizes  of  $1  each,  also  a 
a  pair  of  tickets  to  every  boy  who  entered 
a  model  plane  that  actually  flew,  no  matter 
for  how  short  a  time. 

Gets  Good  Press  Space 

The  Beacon-Journal  played  the  meet  up 
over  double  column  headlines  for  a  week  in 
advance  of  the  meet  and  the  showing  of  the 
film.  Brown  also  used  a  puzzle  contest  from 
the  "Lilac  Time"  press  sheet.  Three  weeks 
in  advance  of  the  showing,  he  placed  novelty 
airplanes  in  the  lobby  with  a  40x50  painted 
panel.  Fifty  of  these  novelty  airplanes  with 
sticker  tags  attached  were  hung  from  the 
light  fixtures  of  25  stores,  one  week  in  ad- 
vance. 

He  borrowed  a  SI. 000  talking  machine, 
which  plays  twelve  records  without  stopping, 
and  used  it  in  the  lobby  a  week  in  advance, 
playing  the  theme  song,  "Jeannine,  I  Dream 
of  Lilac  Time,"  with  a  special  poster,  an- 
nouncing the  coming  of  the  picture. 

American  Legion  Helps 

The  American  Legion  Log  Cabin,  on  one 
of  -the  most  important  streets  in  the  town, 
used  the  "Lilac  Time"  banners  for  five  days 
in  advance.  The  10x6  foot  beaver  board  panel 
was  mounted  on  top  of  the  marquise  in  ad- 
vance and  during  the  run  of  the  picture. 

Entire  windows  were  given  up  to  displays 
of  "Lilac  Time"  stills,  posters,  book  and  sheet 
music  in  the  following  stores:  Kresge  5  and 
10c  Store,  Windsor-Polling  Music  Store,  Em- 
erson Music  Store,  Brownell  Music  Store, 
Robinson  Book  Store.  The  music  stores  also 
gave  displays  of  sheet  music,  records  and  spe- 
cial 22x28  cards  on  their  music  counters. 

Paramount  Buys  Story 

For  All-Audien  Picture 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
XEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Paramount  has 
bought  the  motion  picture  rights  to  Mar- 
garet H.  Lawrence's  story,  "A  Woman 
Who  Needed  Killing."  The  story  will  be 
filmed  as  an  all-audien  and  Clive  Brook 
and  Baclanova  will  have  the  starring  roles. 

Fox's  Outdoor  Audien 

Sets  Tico-House  Record 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— New  house  rec- 
ords for  opening  day  receipts  were  set  by 
Fox's  "In  Old  Arizona,"  outdoor  audien, 
at  the  Criterion  in  Los  Angeles  and  the 
Broadway  at  Portland,  Ore.  It  had  done 
the  same  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  in  Seattle. 

Will  Stage  Go  to  Sound 

Studios  for  Its  Actors? 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8  — Among  the 
many  traditions  overturned  by  sound  pic- 
tures will  be  that  of  the  screen  going  to  the 
sound  studios  for  talent,  sa-.s  Cecil  B.  De- 
Mille. 


Since  the  actual  making  of  all-dialogue 
feature  pictures  was  begun  last  fall  with 
"The  Letter,"  featuring  Jeanne  Eagels,  fol- 
lowed by  "The  Hole  in  the  Wall,"  it  has 
been  possible  to  make  only  a  single  talking 
scene  at  once.  There  was  but  one  sound 
channel.  Consequently,  only  one  picture 
was  made  at  a  time,  in  contrast  to  the  old 
days  when  as  many  as  six  silent  pictures 
were  in  production  simultaneously  at  the 
studio,  and  the  only  speeding-up  possible 
was  the  night  work  on  short  subjects. 

Effective  soundproofing  of  the  large 
main  floor  stage  is  now  in  progress.  Be- 
cause of  its  size  and  the  necessity  for  keep- 
ing its  space  flexible,  it  was  impractical  to 
treat  this  stage  with  hollow-tile  walls  like 
the  smaller  stages. 

After  experimenting  with  heavy  drapes, 
it  has  been  decided  to  equip  the  stage  with 
huge  tent-like  hangings,  arranged  to  pull  up 
and  down  in  the  manner  of  Venetian  win- 
dow curtains.  The  device  was  worked  out 
by  Butler  in  conference  with  sound  experts 
of  the  studio  staff. 

Vitaphone  Camera 
Chief  Now  Busy  at 
New  Eastern  Studio 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8— Edwin  Du  Par. 
chief  Vitaphone  cameraman  for  the  last 
three  years  at  the  Warner  studios  on  the 
West  Coast,  is  now  at  the  new  Vitaphone 
Eastern  studio  in  Brooklyn  in  charge  of  all 
camera  work  and  also  instructor  of  a  crew 
of  cameramen. 

Bryan  Foy,  Vitaphone  director  and  pro- 
duction chief  at  the  Eastern  studio,  an- 
nounces five  acts  signed  from  the  vaude- 
ville stage,  including  Frank  Whitman,  Sol 
Ginsberg,  McKee  and  Ardine,  Fred  Ardath 
and  Company,  and  Lerdo's  Mexican  Or- 
chestra. 

Producer  for  W  orld  W  ide 

Will  Erect  Sound  Studios 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— British  and 
Dominion  Film  Corporation  is  getting 
ready  to  build  sound  studios  at  Brighton  in 
England,  with  present  plans  calling  for  oc- 
cupation in  May.  Herbert  Brenon,  super- 
visor of  production  for  this  company,  is 
now  in  Hollywood  making  "The  Fog"  and 
"The  Wolves"  in  collaboration  with  Mar- 
shall Neilan.  The  product  of  the  Wilcox 
organization  will  be  imported  to  America 
by  World  Wide  Pictures.  Two  of  the  com- 
pany's pictures,  "The  Bondman"  and  "The 
Woman  in  White"  are  about  to  be  released 
here. 

Peoples  at  Portland,  Ore., 

To  Reopen  with  W.  E.  Wiring 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

PORTLAND,  ORE.,  Jan.  8.— Announce- 
ment is  made  by  the  Consolidated  Theatre 
Company,  operating  a  three-house  chain, 
that  their  Peoples  theatre  will  be  entirely 
remodeled  and  equipped  with  both  \  ita- 
phone  and  Movietone.    It  is  expected  that 


the  work  will  be  rushed  and  the  house  re- 
opened with  some  600  seats  and  new  mar- 
quise shortly  after  February  1.  A.  Bernard, 
for  many  years  associated  with  various 
Pacific  Coast  houses,  has  been  named  as 
manager  for  the  Peoples. 

Coliseum  at  Seattle 

Reopens  with  Audiens 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
SEATTLE,  Jan.  8. — Dressed  in  a  new- 
decorative  scheme,  the  Coliseum  theatre  is 
among  the  latest  to  join  the  ranks  of  houses 
showing  audiens.  The  house  opened  with 
"Prep  and  Pep,"  featuring  David  Rollins 
and  Nancy  Drexel.  The  bill  was  augmented 
by  a  number  of  short  subjects  and  an 
elaborate  musical  program  with  complete 
orchestra. 

When  You're  Ready  to 

Shoot,  Fire  That  Shell 

(Special  lo  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— A  special  shell, 
fired  in  a  regulation  gun,  has  been  perfected 
by  Maurice  Manne,  effect  director  for  Pathe 
at  Sound  Studios,  for  use  in  registering 
shots  before  the  microphone.  It  is  being 
used  in  filming  "Ned  McCobb's  Daughter." 


SPECIAL  NOTICE 
to 

Motion  Picture  Producers 

CARL  FENTON 
ORCHESTRAS,  Inc. 

is  equipped  to  handle  your  synchroniza- 
tion from  start  to  finish.  It  combines  a 
thorough  familiarity  with  synchroniza- 
tion, with  years  of  experience  in  the 
fields  of  standard  and  popular  music, 
records  and  radio. 

We  have  a  complete  staff  of  experts  for 

—  SCORING  — 
—  SYNCHRONIZING  — 
—  RECORDING  — 

We  command  the  services  of  the  finest 

musicians  in  the0  country 
Immediate  recording  of  musical  score 
may  be  arranged  for 
(facilities  for  33  1/3  revolutions) 

Our  plan  will  interest  you  for  it  is  thor- 
ough, expedient  and  economical. 

All  work  under  the  personal  direction  of 

CARL  FENTON 

He  knows  the  "mike"  through  years  of 
experience  with  Brunswick  and  Gennett 
recording  companies. 

Carl  Fenton  Orchestras,  Inc. 

1674  BROADWAY       NEW  YORK  CITY 

Telephone — Columbus  2232 


44 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


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Manos  Enterprises  for 


Writer  Proposes  Coolidge  Lead 
War  on  Censoring  Talking  Films 

Suggestion  that  Calvin  Coolidge  be  retained  by  the  motion  picture  industry 
to  represent  its  interests  when  and  if  the  question  of  censorship  of  dialogue  pro- 
ductions becomes  an  issue  for  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  to  settle,  is  made 
in  an  article  in  a  December  issue  of  "The  Nation,"  on  "Padlocking  the  'Talkies.'  " 

eral  Bill  of  Rights  which  disposed  of  the 
matter  for  all  time  by  declaring  that  'Con- 
gress shall  make  no  law  abridging  freedom 
of  speech  or  of  the  press'?  Can  speech  be 
stifled  in  the  face  of  the  constitutional  safe- 


The  hope  that  the  "creed  of  the  Star 
Chamber  will  not  prevail"  is  voiced  by  the 
writer,  James  N.  Rosenberg,  who  declares 
that  "previous  restraint"  as  censorship  has 
been  defined  since  the  days  of  Blackstone, 
was  eliminated  by  the  Fathers  "because 
history  taught  it  to  be  the  tyrant's  surest 
weapon." 

"If  the  talking  movie  is  to  be  sub- 
ject to  censorship  what  has  become 
of  our  constitutional  safeguard  that 
'Congress  shall  make  no  law  abridg- 
ing freedom  of  speech,' "  the  writer 
asks.  "Is  speech,  when  mechanically 
reproduced  in  its  every  accent  and 
intonation,  no  longer  speech?  If  not, 
what  is  it?" 

Calling  attention  to  a  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  1915  that  "the  argument 
is  wrong  or  strained  which  extends  the 
guaranties  of  free!  speech  to  the  multitu- 
dinous shows  which  are  advertised  on  the 
billboards  of  our  cities  .  .  .  the  common- 
sense  of  the  country  is  against  the  conten- 
tion," the  writer  points  out  that  in  the 
wake  of  that  ruling  the  following  took 
place: 

"Film  censorship  was  attempted  in  thirty 
states,  was  actually  put  through  in  seven, 
operates  in  over  thirty  cities  by  process  of 
municipal  ordinances,  and  the  Battalions  of 
the  Blue  Menace  have  made  six  tremendous 
assaults  on  Congress  for  national  censor- 
ship; assaults  defeated  only  by  the  single- 
handed  opposition  of  Calvin  Coolidge — who 
while  Governor  of  Massachusetts  vetoed  a 
censorship  bill  on  'constitutional  grounds.'  " 
Can  Speech  Be  Stifled? 

"The  censor's  power  to  muzzle  the  talk- 
less  movie  has  been  established  in  this 
country  by  statute  and  court  decision,"  says 
the  article.  "The  censor  and  the  talking 
movie  is  my  present  theme.  Can  the  cen- 
sors throttle  speech  via  the  talking  movie 
as  they  are  permitted  to  muzzle  the  film 
without  vocal  accompaniment?  This  is  no 
academic  subject,  for  the  Pennsylvania 
censors  have  already  asserted  such  power. 

"Dare  they  do  so  in  the  face  of  our  fed- 


guards  written  into  the  constitution  of 
every  state  in  the  Union?  By  what  author- 
ity do  the  Pennsylvania  censors  presume 
to  apply  the  now  popular  padlock  principle 
of  government  to  speech,  whether  between 
man  and  man  face  to  - face,  over  the  tele- 
phone or  the  radio,  or  via  the  talking 
movie?  By  the  best  and  most  august,  au- 
thority, the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.  Read  the  Mutual  Film  case  in 
Volume  236  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  Reports  decided  in  1915.  .  . 

Canon  Chase  to  Rescue! 

"In  1907,  the  Supreme  Court  (in  Paterson 
vs.  Colorado)  declared  that  'the  main  pur- 
pose of  such  consitutional  provisions  is  to 
prevent  all  such  previous  restraints  on  pub- 
lication as  had  been  practiced  by  other 
governments.  They  do  not  prevent  subse- 
quent punishment  of  such  statements  as 
may  be  contrary  to  the  public  welfare.' 
The  learned  justices  who  wrote  those  words 
were  not  only  sound  constitutional  lawyers. 
They  were  good  historians.  They  knew 
their  'Areopagitica.'  They  had  heard  of  the 
Inquisition;  the  Index  Librorum  Prohibito- 
rum;   the  Star  Chamber;  the  Napoleonic 


1 5  Soundproof  Cameras 
Ordered  by  LeBaron 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  IS.— Fifteen 
soundproof  cameras  have  been  or- 
dered by  William  LeBaron,  vice  pres- 
ident in  charge  of  production  at  the 
F  B  O  studios,  coincident  with  prep- 
arations for  installation  of  sound 
stages.  The  cameras  are  designed  to 
eliminate  the  "click." 


censorship;  the  slowly  won  liberty  of 
speech  in  England;  the  fatal  result  of  the 
muzzle. 

"Then  came  the  movies.  If  Gutenberg's 
hand  press  struck  terror  into  the  wielders 
of  authority,  it  is  not  difficult  to  compre- 
hend that  in  order  to  control  movies,  which 
contain  untold  power  of  regimenting  public 
opinion,  the  forces  of  virtue  girded  their 
modest  loins.  The  mothers  of  America, 
led  by  Canon  Chase,  gathered  for  battle. 
It  is  true  that  for  a  while  they  made  little 
headway.  In  1912,  Mayor  Gaynor  of  New 
York  denounced  and  vetoed  a  New  York 
City  censorship  ordinance.  ...  In  1913  an 
Ohio  moving-picture  censorship  bill  was  en- 
acted. Other  states  followed  suit.  It  was 
in  1915  that  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  was  called  on  to  decide 
whether  an  Ohio  statute  providing  for  cen- 
sorship (i.  e.,  previous  restraint)  over  the 
movies  was  constitutional.  .  .  .  The  Su- 
preme Court  held  that  the  police  power 
which  is  exercised  in  granting  licenses  to 
theatres  (chiefly  in  relation  to  fire  hazards) 
justified  censorship  over  the  movie,  and  so 
sustained  the  statute;  and  at  the  very  same 
term  of  court  a  similar  Kansas  statute,  giv- 
ing the  censors  power  to  suppress  even 
the  news  reel,  was  likewise  held  constitu- 
tional. 

Held  Mere  Spectacle 

"These  decisions  the  Supreme  Court  pred- 
icated largely  on  the  theory  that  the  mov- 
ing picture  is  a  mere  spectacle.  Counsel 
for  the  film  companies  urged  expertly  that 
censorship  contravenes  the  constitutional 
safeguards.  They  pointed  out  that  moving 
pictures  are  displayed  not  only  for  enter- 
tainment but  as  'exponents  of  policies, 
teachers  of  science  and  history.'  The  only- 
answer  of  the  Supreme  Court  was  that 
since,  according  to  the  statute,  'Films  of  a 
"moral,  educational,  or  amusing  and  harm- 
less character  shall  be  passed  and  ap- 
proved." '  'No  exhibition,  therefore  .  .  . 
will  be  prevented  if  its  pictures  have  those 
qualities.' 

"That  the  determination  of  these  qualities 
was  left  in  advance  to  the  decision  of  a 
censor,  the  Court  refused  to  consider  as  an 
infraction  of  the  constitutional  safeguard. 
Its  declaration,  made  only  eight  years 
earlier,  that  the  purpose  of  the  constitu- 
tional provision  was  to  prevent  all  previous 
restraint,  the  Court  held  inapplicable  to  the 
mere  spectacle.  Thus  in  1915  the  principle 
of  previous  restraint  was  for  the  first  time 
adopted  as  a  part  of  American  jurispru- 
dence. .  .  . 

"Thus  through  wartime  decision,  not  only 
were  'Dr  Caligari'  and  'The  Covered 
Wagon'  subjected  to  censorship  as  mere 
spectacles,  but  even  the  daily  news  reel 
with  its  pictures  and  text  was  relegated  to 
the  same  category.  Other  courts  soon  fol- 
lowed suit.  The  New  York  Court  of 
Appeals  (Justice  Cardozo  not  sitting)  ac- 
quiesced." 

Electric  Officials  Feted 

After  Sound  Film  Show 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

WINNIPEG,  Jan.  9.— Officials  of  the 
Northern  Electric  Company,  which  is  in- 
stalling the  sound  equipment  in  various 
Canadian  theatres,  were  the.  guests  of  honor 
at  a  dinner  of  Winnipeg  projectionists  at 
the  Marlborough  hotel,  Winnipeg,  follow- 
ing the  presentation  of  the  first  synchro- 
nized film,  "Street  Angel,"  at  the  Metropol- 
itan. The  Northern  Electric  experts  were 
H.  S.  Walker,  A.  Cash  and  Mrs.  Cash,  and 
A.  Jackson. 

Among  those  present  were  V.  Armand, 
supervisor  Of  projection  for  Famous  Play- 
ers Canadian,-  R.  Reney,  president  of  the 
Winnipeg  operators  local,  and  W.  Hale, 
chief  operator  of  the  Metropolitan. 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS   HERALD -WORLD 


45 


Example  of  the  film  used  in  producing  Fox's  "Follies.''    It  requires  an  enlarged  screen  and 
in  addition  to  the  synchronization  it  gives  a  third  dimension  effect,  the  principle  being  simi- 
lar to  that  used  by-  George  K.  Spoor  at  the  old  Essanay  plant  in  Chicago  in  his  third  dimen- 
sion experiments. 


Spoor's  Third  Dimension  Device 
Reported  in  Movietone  "Follies" 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD.  Jan.  8.— It  has  become  known  that  Winfield  Sheehan  ha* 
completed  production  on  the  Fox  "Follies."  which  is  said  to  be  a  musical 
comedy  transferred  to  Movietone. 


Here's  Clue  on  How 
To  Tell  Public  About 
Sound  Equipment 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

BERKELEY,  CAL.,  Jan.  9.— Since  the  in- 
stallation of  Vitaphone  and  Movietone  equip- 
ment in  the  Campus  theatre  several  months 
ago  the  management  has  been  deluged  with 
questions  about  synchronization,  many  people 
writing  long  letters  requesting  information. 

Recently  the  Elks  Club  of  Berkeley  put 
on  a  Big  Charity  Circus  in  a  huge  tent  that 
housed  more  than  100  exhibits  by  merchants 
and  the  Campus  theatre  arranged  for  a  dis- 
play of  equipment  used  in  the  projection  of 
sound  pictures.  The  display  presented  the 
most  interesting  and  outstanding  features 
connected  with  the  Vitaphone  and  Fox 
Movietone  and  the  late  inventions  of  the 
Western  Electric  Company  in  the  field  of 
sound  smchronization. 


Eddie  Dou  ling  Goes  IT  est 

To  Make  Sono-Art  Picture 

Eddie  Dowling  and  a  party  of  ten  have 
gone  to  Hollywood  where  Eddie  will  star 
in  his  first  talking  picture,  "Broadway 
Bound."  In  the  Dowling  party  from  New 
York  were  O.  E.  Goebel,  president,  and 
George  \V.  Weeks,  vice  president  of  Sono- 
Art  productions,  which  will  produce  the 
picture;  Frances  Agnew,  who  is  doine  the 
screen  adaptation,  and  others  who  will  aid 
in  putting  the  story  on  the  screen. 

Production  will  be  started  as  soon  as 
the  party  reaches  the  Metropolitan  studios 
of  the  Christie  Film  Company. 


Disney  Sound  Cartoons 

On  State  Right  Market 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8— The  "Mickey 
Mouse"  series  of  animated  sound  cartoons 
are  to  be  released  through  state  rights  ex- 
changes, according  to  Charlie  Giegerich, 
business  manager  for  Walt  Disney. 

Distribution  in  the  Philadelphia  and 
Washington  territories  will  be  through  the 
Penn  Productions  at  1331  Vine  street. 
Philadelphia.  Upper  New  York  State 
rights  have  been  awarded  to  Richard  G. 
Fox  of  the  Fox  Film  Exchanges  at  257 
Franklin  street,  Buffalo.  These  two  dis- 
tributors will  fill  the  bulk  of  the  Stanley- 
Warner  bookings. 

Sound  Boosts  B.  0.  for 

Universal  Seattle  House 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
PORTLAND,  ORE.,  Jan.  8— Melvin  G. 
W  instock,  manager  of  the  Columbia  thea- 
tre in  Seattle,  has  made  a  tour  of  the  Uni- 
versal chain  of  houses  in  Oregon  and  W'ash- 

ngton  in  company  with  K  Burke,  general 
division  manager  of  Universal  Theatrical 
Enterprises.     The   Seattle  house  recently 

quipped  with  Vitaphone  and  Movietone  is 
giving  the  greatest  satisfaction  with  an  in- 
:rease  in  patronage  and  it  is  expected  other 
louses  in  the  chain  will  be  similarly 
equipped  in  the  near  future. 


Sound  "Trouble  Shooters" 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
CULVER  CITY,  Jan.  8.— A  regular  staff 
>i  Movietone  linemen  and  "trouble  shoot- 
rs"  is  maintained  at  the  M  G  M  studio. 
The  linemen  run  connections  to  locations 
nd  the  "trouble  shooters"  eliminate  dis- 
urbances  distorting  voices  or  sounds. 


TX  order  to  obtain  the  near  shot  with  eight 
dancers  in  the  range  of  the  camera  it  was 
found  a  special  kind  of  film  was  necessary. 
The  standard  width  film  will  shoot  a  chorus 
at  a  long  shot  or  it  will  shoot  two  people 
in  a  closeup  but  it  fails  in  bringing  eight 
people  up  to  a  closeup  at  the  same  time. 

Whether  actually  Spoor's,  the  film  that  Fox 
used  in  making  the  picture  was  in  principle 


Following  very  outspoken  criticism  of  talk- 
ing pictures  voiced  by  Warwick  Deeping,  a 
number  of  writers  of  the  old  and  new  schools 
are  quoted  by  Film  Weekly,  recently  launched 
British  publication. 

Deeping's  view  is  upheld  by  Ethel  Mannin, 
who  calls  the  talking  film  "a  contradiction  in 
terms."  Film  Weekly  quotes  her  in  part  as 
follows : 

"Even  though  the  voice-reproduction  part 
of  the  talking  film  be  improved  from  its 
present  crudity  and  reaches  perfection,  it  will 
never  succeed  in  giving  a  realistic  three-di- 
mensional quality  to  the  essential  two-dimen- 
sional quality  of  the  film ! 

Xot  so  is  the  effect  upon  William  Gerhardi 
of  the  younger  school  of  British  novelists, 
who  says : 

"I  think  that  talking  pictures  have  a  real 
future  when  producers  realize  the  merits  and 
demerits  of  dialogue. 

"The  effect  of  witty  or  delightful  dialogue 
instead  of  interfering  with  the  story  will  add 
to  it  by  supplying  something  in  a  medium 
of  its  own  and  beyond  competition." 

Canon  James  O.  Hannay  ("George  A  Bir- 
mingham"), after  saying  that  he  has  no  opin- 


like  the  film  used  by  George  K.  Spoor  in 
his  third  dimension  camera.  It  requires  an 
enlarged  screen  and  gives  third  dimension 
effect  together  with  synchronization. 

People  on  the  lot  say  that  Spoor's  equip- 
ment was  used  in  the  picture  making.  It 
is  said  that  it  was  comparatively  simple  to 
attach  the  sound  device  to  the  three  dimen- 
sion equipment. 


ion  because  he  never  has  seen  or  heard  talk- 
ing pictures  adds : 

"If,  however,  Mr.  Deeping  is  right  in  say- 
ing that  they  are  adding  a  new  noise  to  the 
enormous  number  already  in  existence,  I  sin- 
cerely hope  that  they  will  absolutely  and  com- 
pletely fail. 

"What  we  want  is  something  which  creates 
a  little  quiet  in  a  world  distracted  by  entirely 
unnecessary  sounds." 

Sees  Both  Kinds  Progressing 

Another  conception  of  the  entire  situation 
is  broached  by  Marjorie  Bowen,  with  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"I  do  not  consider  one  form  of  entertain- 
ment ever  likely  to  supersede  another.  There 
seem  to  me  to  be  great  possibilities  in  the  talk- 
ing films,  but  I  do  not  think  either  the  silent 
film  or  the  stage  will  be  adversely  affected. 
Answers  Mechanical  Objections 

A  reader  of  Film  Weekly  takes  issue  with 
Warwick  Deeping  with  the  following  rather 
unusual  comment : 

"I  would  suggest  that  when  talking  films 
have  attained  a  high  standard  of  excellence, 
as  they  undoubtedly  will,  the  vulgarity  of  a 
cinema  play  will  be  decreased  and  not  in- 
creased by  the  addition  of  speech." 


British  Authors  Divided  Over 

Future  of  Dialogue  Pictures 

%  hat  do  Britain's  authors  think  about  talking  pictures  and  their  future? 
Opinions  vary,  as  is  to  be  expected,  but  the  arguments  advanced  bv  the  authors 
in  support  of  their  viewpoints  provide  some  interesting  sidelights. 


46 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


W 


THE  STUDIO 


LeBaron  Announces  Many  Personnel 
Shifts  for  Qr eater  FBO 

Ben  Hecht  and  Charles  MacArthur  Are  the  Latest  Additions  to  the 
Company's  Staff  of  Writers  at  Studio 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8.— William  LeBaron,  vice  president  in  charge  of 
production  of  F  B  O,  added  to  his  staff  Ben  Hecht  and  Charles  Mac- 
Arthur  today.    It  was  the  seventh  addition  he  made  this  week. 
Earlier  he  had  announced  that  Luther  Reed  and  Henry  Hobart  will  be  in 
parallel  capacities  as  associate  producers  in  the  new  and  greater  FBO. 
'P'HE  studio  is  being  rapidly  reorganized  in     duction^supervisor.    Eddy  is  publicity  director 


preparation  for  the  execution  of  the  pre- 
viously announced  change  of  policy  in  pro- 
duction. LeBaron  is  one  of  the  few  familiar 
faces  on  the  lot  who  was  there  one  year 
ago. 

Hecht  and  MacArthur  are  authors  of  "The 
Front  Page"  which  made  them  theatrically 
famous.  Hecht  who  has  written  "Under- 
world" for  Paramount  will  now  write  "Upper- 
world"  for  FBO.  MacArthur,  his  team 
mate,  will  write  "Gold  Coast,"  presumably  a 
story  of  Chicago. 

The  company  has  also  announced  the  pur- 
chase of  "Rio  Rita,"  musical  comedy. 

Among  additions  in  personnel  this  week 
are  the  signing  of  Betty  Compson,  Walter 
Woods,  Sally  Blane,  Harold  Schwartz,  Myles 
Connelly,  and  Don  Eddy. 

Compson  will  be  featured  in  four  pictures. 
Woods  is  a  scenarist,  formerly  with  James 
Cruze.    Connelly  has  been  engaged  as  a  pro- 


At  the  New  York 
Theatres 


NEW  FILMS 

PARAMOUNT— "Synthetic  Sin,"  a  First  National 
picture,  with  Colleen  Moore  and  Antonio  Moreno. 

ROXY — "Romance  of  the  Underworld,"  a  Fox  pic- 
ture with  Mary  Astor  and  John  Boles. 

S5TH  ST.  PLAYHOUSE— "Russia— 1908,"  a  Ger- 
man picture  with  Marcelia  Albani  and  Waldimir 
Gaidarow. 

COLONY — "The  Last  Warning,"  a  Universal  picture 
with  Laura  La  Plante,  Montague  Love  and  John 
Boles,  directed  by  Paul  Leni. 

HIPPODROME— "The  Jazz  Age,"  an  F  B  O  picture 
with   Douglas  Fairbanks,  Jr.,   and  Marceline  Day. 

HELD  OVER  AND  REVIVED 

WINTER  GARDEN— "The   Singing  Fool,"  Warner 

Bros.,  opened  September  19. 
ASTOR — "Alias  Jimmie  Valentine,"  Metro-Goldwyn- 

Mayer,  opened  November  IS. 
CRITERION — "Interference,"     Paramount,  opened 

November  16. 
EMBASSY— "The     Viking,"  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 

opened  November  28. 
CENTRAL — "The    Barker,"    First    National,  opened 

December  S. 

WARNER — "My  Man,"  Warner  Bros.,  opened  De- 
cember 21. 

GAIETY — "The  River,"  Fox,  opened  December  22. 
LITTLE     CARNEGIE     PLAYHOUSE  —  "Lucrezia 

Borgia,"  UFA,  opened  December  22. 
RIVOLI — "The  Awakening,"  United  Artists,  opened 

December  28. 

CAMEO— "The   End   of   St.    Petersburg,"  Sovkino. 

revived  for  another  week. 
STRAND — "Home  Towners,"  Warner  Bros.,  revived 

for  another  week. 
CAPITOL— "West    of    Zanzibar,"     Metro  Goldwyn- 

Mayer,  held  over  for  another  week. 
RIALTO — "Abie's  Irish  Rose,"   Paramount,  revived 

December  22. 


FBO  people  who  have  left  or  are  soon 
to  leave  include  Tom  Tyler,  Buzz  Barton, 
Frankie  Darro,  Bob  Steele,  Martha  Sleeper, 
Hugh  Trevor,  and  Tom  Mix.  Ranger  has 
also  withdrawn. 


Contract  Suit  Against 
Betty  Compson  Settled 
Out  of  Court  for  $400 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8.— When  the  law- 
suit of  F.  Nigg  against  Betty  Compson  was 
called  for  trial  yesterday  before  Superior 
Judge  Guerin,  the  case  went  "off  calendar" 
when  attorneys  announced  a  settlement  had 
been  reached  out  of  court.  The  amount 
paid  bv  the  actress,  it  is  asserted,  was 
$400. 

The  account  of  which  the  plaintiff  asked 
settlement  was  one  assigned  to  him  by  the 
Edward  Small  Company.  The  complaint 
asserted  that  Miss  Compson  became  in- 
debted to  the  concern  April  16,  1926,  for 
$3,000,  the  amount  being  a  10  per  cent 
charge  for  obtaining  for  Mrs.  Cruze  a  $30,- 
000  contract.  It  was  asserted  that  $1,500 
was  due  and  unpaid. 

Miss  Compson  contended  that  the  suit 
was  outlawed  by  not  having  been  collected 
within  two  years. 


Lina  Basquette  and 

Peverell  Marley  Wed 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8.— Lina  Bas- 
quette, wridow  of  Sam  Warner  and  during 
the  past  year  player  in  a  number  of  pro- 
ductions for  various  companies,  was  mar- 
ried to  Peverell  Marlev,  head  cameraman 
for  Cecil  B.  DeMille,  at  All  Saints  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  church  yesterday. 

June  Collyer  was  bridesmaid  and  Robert 
Edeson  was  best  man.  The  bride  was  given 
in  marriage  by  her  father,  Ernest  Belcher, 
dancing  master,  prominent  on  the  coast. 


Estelle  Taylor  to  Play 
In  "Jungle"  with  Chaney 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8.— Estelle  Taylor  has 
been  assigned  the  feminine  role  opposite  Lon 
Chaney  in  "Jungle."  It  is  the  first  time  Miss 
Taylor  has  ever  worked  on  the  Metro-Gold- 
wyn-Mayer lot. 


Marc  McDermott, 
Player  Since  Films 9 
Early  Days,  Is  Dead 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  CAL.,  Jan.  5— Marc 
McDermott,  identified  with  motion  pictures 
from  the  time  when  they  first  began  to  be 
recognized  as  an  art  and  continuously  since 
then  one  of  the  screen's  most  successful 
players  of  supporting  roles,  died  at  a  Glen- 
dale  hospital  last  Saturday  of  a  liver  com- 
plaint. 

McDermott  is  known  wherever  motion 
pictures  arc  shown  as  one  of  the  screen's 
most  effective  personalities,  and  his  roles 
are  numbered  by  the  hundreds.  He  also 
did  some  directing. 

He  had  been  in  poor  health  for  some 
time,  and  during  the  four  weeks  just  prior 
to  his  death  his  life  had  been  despaired  of 
by  his  physicians. 


Anthony  Coldeway  Named 
Assistant  Executive  for 
First  National  Studios 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Anthony  Colde- 
way, well  known  motion  picture  executive 
has  been  appointed  assistant  associate  execu- 
tive at  First  National  Studios. 

Coldeway  will  work  with  Al  Rockett  on 
production  matters  and  will  be  in  charge 
of  the  writers  and  the  story  department. 
He  will  begin  his  duties  at  once. 


Baclanova  Is  Sued  by 

Al  Rosen  for  $1460 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8.— Olga  Baclanova 
was  hailed  into  court  this  week  to  face  a 
claim  against  her  amounting  to  $1,460.  The 
claim  was  filed  by  Al  Rosen  who  claims  to 
have  been  her  business  manager.  She  as- 
serted in  a  previous  petition  that  he  had  taken 
advantage  of  her  "ignorance  of  the  English 
language"  in  obtaining  her  signature  to  a 
contract. 


Mary  Nolan  Signed  by 

"U";  Wyler  to  Direct 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8.— Shortly  after 
efforts  of  M  G  M  to  buy  the  contract  of 
Mary  Nolan  from  Universal  Mr.  Laemmle 
decided  her  services  are  too  much  in  de- 
mand for  him  to  permit  her  contract  to 
expire.  Universal  signed  her  for  a  new  con- 
tract this  week.  Her  first  picture  on  it  will 
be  "Coat  Come  Across."  Willie  Wyler  will 
direct. 


Re-Title  Lubitsch  Film 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8.— The  picture  di- 
rected by  Ernst  Lubitsch  under  the  title  "King 
of  the  Mountains,"  starring  John  Barrymore, 
will  be  released  under  the  title  of  "Eternal 
Love,"  it  was  announced  today. 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


47 


1929  Baby  Stars 
Of  Wampas  Named; 
List  Kept  Secret 

(Special  to  the  Herald-Worli) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8.— The  Wampas 
elected  13  Baby  stars  for  1929  Monday  night. 
Chester  Vanderlip  of  Bank  of  Italy  and 
Reverend  Neal  Dodd  were  in  charge  of  count- 
ing the  votes.  Their  counts  will  be  kept 
secret  for  several  days.  Meantime  an  accu- 
rate checkup  of  voters  shows  the  following 
people  will  be  among  the  honored  ones : 

Raquel  Torres,  Josephine  Dunn  and  Anita 
Page  of  Metro ;  Caryl  Lincoln,  and  Betty 
Boyd ;  Helen  Twelvetrees  of  Fox,  Jeanette 
Loff  of  Pathe;  Doris  Hill  and  Jean  Arthur 
of  Paramount;  Sally  Blane  of  F  B  O,  Helen 
Foster  and  Doris  Dawson  and  Loretta  Young 
of  First  National. 

— D.  H. 


May  McA  voy  Leaves 
Warners;  Achieved 
B  O  Distinction 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8— May  McAvoy 
declares  she  will  leave  Warner  Brothers  at 
the  end  of  her  three-year  contract,  which 
expires  this  week.  Miss  McAvoy,  who  is 
known  as  "the  Vitaphone  girl,"  has  recently 
received  unusual  honors  as  a  box  office 
name. 

She  rated  well  on  in e  Herald-World  list 
of  box  office  leaders  and  was  also  voted  the 
most  popular  film  star  in  talking  pictures 
when  a  contest  was  conducted  by  a  Los 
Angeles  daily  paper. 


Rosabelle  Laemmle  and 
Stanley  Bergerman  Wed 
At  Beverly  Hills  Home 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8.  —  Rosabelle 
Laemmle,  daughter  of  Carl  Laemmle,  presi- 
dent of  Universal,  was  married  last 
Wednesday  to  Stanley  Bergerman,  a  busi- 
ness man,  at  the  Laemmle  home  in  Beverly 
Hills.  Rabbi  Edgar  F.  Magnin  read  the 
ritual. 

Following  the  ceremony,  a  wedding  re- 
ception attended  by  many  film  notables  was 
held.  Among  those  present  were  Rod  La 
Rocque,  Reginald  Denny,  Rudolph  Sclrild- 
kraut,  Glenn  Tryon,  Carmel  Myers,  B.  F. 
Schulberg,  Wesley  Ruggles  and  Yilma 
Banky.   Carl  Laemmle,  Jr.,  was  best  man. 

The  ceremony  took  place  in  a  bower  of 
palms,  orange  blossoms  and  growing 
blooms.  Miss  Laemmle  wore  a  crown  of 
pearls,  a  cap  with  a  long  tulle  veil,  and  a 
moyenage  gown  of  brocade  with  rose- 
colored  lace. 


"Fleet's  In"  and  Out 

Of  'Frisco  in  Bow  Suit 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8.— San  Francisco 
after  all  is  not  going  to  hear  the  fight  for 
$100,000  damage  suit  against  Clara  Bow 
et  al  because  Clara's  film,  "The  Fleet's  In," 
has  scenes  taken  in  Los  Angeles  which 
were  labelled  "San  Francisco." 

Nate  Schmulowitz,  attorney  for  Miss 
Bow,  today  filed  suit  in  Judge  George 
Cavanish's  court  asking  change  in  venue 
because  most  of  his  clients  lived  in  Los 
Angeles.  Attorney  Harry  Stafford,  appear- 
ing for  Pavilion  Ice  Rink  Company,  pro- 
prietors of  the  Roseland  Dance  Hall,  who 
:ire  claiming  compensation,  agreed  to  the 
nearing  of  the  case  in  the  South. 


PFL  Starts  4  in  Post-Holiday 
Rush  to  Schedules;  Lots  Busy 

Fox-Movietone  Studios  Actually  in  Operation  with  Installation  of 
Stoloff's  "Speakeasy"  Company;  Fairbanks  Feeds 
Extras  by  Generous  Budget 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8. — With  producers  eager  to  counteract  the  depression 
felt  since  before  Christmas  practically  all  studios  have  launched  new  pictures. 

Adolph  Zukor's  presence  on  the  West  Coast  showed  its  influence  when 
Paramount  stepped  ahead  of  the  other  studios  by  beginning  production  on  four 
stories  this  week.    B.  P.  Schulberg-  states  there  will  be  three  more  next  week. 


One  already  begun  is  "Innocents  of 
Paris,"  which  is  being  directed  by  Richard 
Wallace.  Ethel  Doherty  has  completed  the 
scenario.  Maurice  Chevalier  is  the  star. 
Another  is  "The  Wild  Party,"  which  Doro- 
thy Arzner  is  directing,  starring  Clara  Bow. 
Clara  will  be  heard  for  the  first  time  in  a 
speaking  role.  An  untitled  picture  being 
directed  by  Lewis  Milestone  stars  Emil  Jan- 
nings.  Victor  Schertzinger  wrote  the  story. 
The  fourth  is  "Close  Harmony,"  with  Buddy 
Rogers  in  the  lead  role  and  with  John 
Cromwell  directing. 

Fox-Movietone  Lot  Opens 

Although  the  formal  dedication  of  the 
Fox-Movietone  studios  was  a  flourishing 
event  several  weeks  ago,  the  lot  was  not 
actually  opened  for  production  until  this 
week.  Its  debut  was  quiet  and  unimposing. 
To  Benjamin  Stoloff,  Fox  Films  director, 
went  the  honor  of  making  the  initial  scene 
for  a  feature  length  production  in  one  of 
the  sound  proof  studios  in  this  "miracle 
city"  that  came  into  being  in  90  days  at  a 
cost  of  $10,000,000. 

This  did  not  mark  initial  production  on 
the  Stoloff  picture,  but  just  a  resumption 
of  camera  work  that  began  in  New  York 
some  time  ago.  The  picture  is  "Speakeasy," 
a  Fox-Movietone  adaptation  of  the  stage 
play  of  the  same  name,  and  has  a  number 
of  notables  in  the  cast — three  of  whom  Sto- 
loff recruited  from  the  New  York  stage, 
and  they  were  put  under  contract  to  Fox 
Films.  Two  of  these — Paul  Page  and  Lola 
Lane — are  cast  in  the  leading  roles,  and 
the  third — Warren  Hymer — has  a  support- 
ing role. 

Laemmle  Working  on  "Broadway" 

Carl  Laemmle  is  spending  most  of  his 
efforts  on  "Broadway,"  which  is  all  audien 
picture.  He  is  also  spending  considerable 
money  on  the  production.  Following  com- 
pletion of  the  picture  the  new  "Broadway" 
sound  stage  will  be  used  in  filming  eight 
100  per  cent  talking  pictures. 

Of  these  "The  Climax"  is  from  the  play 
by  Edward  Locke.  Jean  Hersholt  and 
Kathryn  Crawford  are  to  be  in  it.  It  goes 
into  production  this  month.  "The  Minstrel 
Man"  will  be  directed  by  Harry  Pollard. 
"The  King  of  Jazz"  will  be  directed  by 
Wesley  Ruggles. 

Eddie  Sloman  resigned  this  week  after 
having  been  slated  to  direct  "A  Bargain  in 
Kremlin."  Wesley  Ruggles  will  also  direct 
"The  Shannons  of  Broadway." 

The  youngster,  Glenn  Tryon,  will  be  his 
facetious  self  in  "Barnum  Was  Right." 
There  will  be  murders  talked  about  in  "The 
Great  Microphone  Murder",  and  the  "Drake 
Murder  Case."  Eddie  Laemmle  will  direct 
the  latter. 

Victor  Schertzinger,  noted  as  a  composer 
as  well  as  a  director  has  just  completed  a 
song  for  "The  Climax."  It  is  "You  Are  My 
Melody  of  Love." 

Fairbanks  Helps  "Eleven  Thousand" 

Douglas  Fairbanks  is  conceded  to  be  a 
philanthropist  by  the  11,000  film  extras  who 
are  proverbially  starving  in  Hollywood.  At 
least  by  part  of  them.  Before  completing 
"The  Iron  Mask"  this  week  he  had  used 


several  hundreds  of  screen  players  each  day 
for  several  weeks.  It  is  a  season  when  there 
is  a  premium  on  a  day's  work.  Dozens  of 
technical  experts  also  profited  by  the  gen- 
erosity   of    the    Fairbanks   company  policy. 

The  picture  was  made  under  the  general 
supervision  of  Maurice  Leloir.  It  was  direc- 
ted by  Allan  Dwan.  Henry  Sharp  photo- 
graphed it.  Robert  Fairbanks  was  general 
manager  for  the  production.  He  was  aided 
by  Willard  M.  Reineck  as  technical  director 
and  Charles  Lewis  as  his  assistant. 

The  staff  of  technicians  consisted  of  Paul 
Burns  as  master  of  wardrobe,  S.  L.  Chalif 
as  his  assistant,  Paul  Roberts  as  master  of 
properties,  Burgess  Beall  as  interior  dec- 
orater,  Walter  Pallman  as  director  of  tech- 
nical effects,  J.  W.  Montgomery  as  chief 
electrician  and  William  Xolan  as  film  cutter. 

Mr.  Fairbanks  surrounded  himself  with  a 
cast  of  brilliant  and  capable  actors.  Leon 
Bary  as  Athos,  Stanley  J.  Sanford  as  Porthos 
and  Gino  Corrado  as  Aramis  played  the 
three  musketeer  companions  of  Mr.  Fair- 
banks' D'Artagnan.  The  other  players  were 
Rolfe  Sedan  as  Louis  XIII,  William  Bake- 
well  as  Louis  XIV,  Nigel  de  Brulier  as 
Cardinal  Richelieu,  Belle  Bennett  as  Anne  of 
Austria,  Marguerite  de  la  Motte  as  con- 
stance,  Dorothy  Revier  as  Milady  de  Winter, 
Vera  Lewis  as  Madame  Per'onne,  Ulrich 
Haupt  as  de  Rochefort,  Lon  Poff  as  Father 
Joseph,  Charles  Stevens  as  Planchet  and 
Henry  Otto  as  master  of  the  king's  ward- 
robe. 

Other  pictures  on  the  United  Artists'  lot 
star  the  famous  Mary  Pickford;  Vilma 
Banky,  Mae  Busch  and  Gloria  Swanson. 
Sam  Taylor  is  directing  in  'Coquette."  Al 
Santell  is  directing  Banky  in  "Childs  Fifth 
Avenue."  Roland  West  is  directing  Miss 
Busch  in  "Nightstick."  Von  Stroheim  is 
directing  Swanson  in  "Queen  Kelly." 

While  the  first  sequences  of  "Queen 
Kelly"  are  laid  in  an  imaginary  kingdom  of 
the  German  Empire,  "Cobourg-Nassau," 
the  royal  domicile  revealed  in  the  picture 
is  in  reality  a  composite  reproduction  of  a 
number  of  continental  palaces.  Months 
were  spent  in  preparation  of  the  sets  under 
supervision  of  Von  Stroheim  whose  Teu- 
tonic thoroughness  is  a  by-word.  The  mar- 
ble hallways  provided  the  background  of 
one  of  the  most  dramatic  sequences  of  the 
picture,  in  which  Miss  Swanson  as  Patricia 
Kelly,  a  convent  girl,  who  has  become  in- 
volved in  a  romance  with  a  prince  is 
horsewhipped  and  driven  from  the  palace 
by  the  mad  queen. 

The  German  sequences  are  almost  com- 
plete and  preparations  are  made  to  transfer 
production  activities  figuratively  to  German 
East  Africa,  the  locale  of  the  final  portion. 


Santell  to  Direct  Dove 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8— First  National 
called  Al  Santell  back  to  the  lot  yesterday 
when  it  was  decided  that  he  will  direct 
Billie  Dove's  next  picture.  The  story  is  yet 
to  be  named.  Santell's  contract  recently  ex- 
pired and  he  left  the  lot  to  join  Sam  Gold- 
wyn  on  a  Vilma  Banky  picture. 


48 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


Herald- World's  Production  Directory 


STORY 


DIRECTOR 


CHIEF 
PLAYERS 


BRAND 
NAME 


Columbia  Studios 


F  B  0  Studios 


•The  Dude 
Ranch" 


Eugene  Ford 


Tom  Mix 
Kathryn  McGuire 


First  National  Studios 


'Hot  Stuff" 


Mervyn  LeRoy      Alice  White 

William  Bakewell 


"The  Man  and  George 
the  Moment"  Fitzmaurice 


Billie  Dove 
Rod  LaRocque 
Gwen  Lee 


Fox  Studios 


'Hearts  in 
Dixie" 


'New  Year's 
Eve" 


'Girls  Gone 
Wild- 


Paul  Sloane 


Charles  Gilpin 
All-colored  east 


Henry  Lehrman    Mary  Astor 

Charles  Morton 


Lou  Seiler 


Sue  Carol 
Nick  Stuart 


Metropolitan  Studios 


"Queen  of  the     Spencer  Bennett    Walter  Miller  Pathe 


Northwoods" 


Untitled 


Ted  Wilde 


Ethelyn  Claire 
Tom  London 
Ed  Cecil 
Fred  Burns 

Harold  Lloyd 


Serial 


Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  Studios 


"The  Pagan" 
"Hallelujah" 


•Spite 
Marriage" 


W.  S.  Van  Dyke  Ramon  Novarro 
Dorothy  Janis 


King  Vidor 


Edward 
Sedgwick 


Daniel  Haynes 
Honey  Brown 
All-colored  cast 

Buster  Keaton 
Dorothy  Seoastian 
Leila  Hyams 
Edward  Earle 


STARTING 
DATE 


'Behind   Closed     R.  William  Neill  Virginia  Valli 
Doors"  Gaston  Glass 

Otto  Metiesen 
Andre  de  Segurola 


December  18 


December  10 


December  19 


December  3 


December  9 


December  13 


December  21 


December  17 


September  17 


DIRECTOR 


CHIEF 
PLAYERS 


BRAND 
NAME 


STARTING 
DATE 


"Five  O'Clock 
Girl" 


"The  Trial  of 
Mary  Dugan" 


Alfred  E.  Green  Marion  Davies 
Charles  King 
Aileen  Pringle 


Bayard  Veiller 


November  9 


October  15 


November  14 


"The  Bridge  of      Charles  Brabin 
San  Luis  Rey" 


Norma  Shearer 
Raymond  Hackett 
H.  B.  Warner 

Racquel  Torres 
Lily  Damita 
Ernest  Torrence 
Michael  Vavitch 


December  3 


December  3 


December  8 


Paramount  Studios 


L  ntitled  Lewis  Milestone    Emil  Jannings 

"The  Four  Merian  Cooper      Richard  Alien 

Feathers"  Ernest  All-Star  cast 

Schoedsack 

"Wolf  Song"        Victor  Fleming      Gary  Cooper 

Lupe  Velez 

"Tong   War"        William  Wellman  Florence  Vidor 

Wallace  Beery 


December  15 


September  18 


October  12 


October  17 


Tiffany-Stahl  Studios 


James  Flood 


Ricardo  Cortez 
Claire  Windsor 


December  20 


United  Artists  Studio 


'Coquetle" 


"Childs,  Fifth 
Avenue" 


"Queen  Kelly" 


Sam  Taylor 


Alfred  Santell 


Eric  von 
Stroheim 


Mary  Pickford 
John  Mack 
Brown 


Mary  Pickford 
Company 


December  17 


Vilma  Banky       Samuel  Goldwyn 
James  Hall  Company 
Fritzi  Ridgeway 

Lucien  Littlefield  November  15 


Gloria  Swanson  Gloria 
Walter  Byron  Productions 
Seena  Owen  Inc. 


•Nightstick"  Roland  West 


Pat  O'Malley 
Mae  Busch 
Chester  Morris 


Roland  West 
Productions 


November  1 


November  15 


Universal  Studios 


'The  Haunted 
"  Lady" 

'Broadway" 


Wesley  Ruggles    Laura  LaPlante 
John  Boles 


Paul  Fejos 


Glenn  Tryon 
Myrna  Kennedy 
Paul  Parcasi 
Evelyn  Brent 


December  8 


December  1 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


49 


W 


THE  SHORT  FEATURE 


Releases 


WEEK  OF  JANUARY  13 

EDUCATIONAL — "Walking  Fish,"  Our  World  To- 
day, one;  "Going  Places,"  Davis,  Mermaid,  two; 
"What  a  Trip,"  Dent,  Cameo,  one. 

MGM — "Untitled,"  Events;  "Election  Day,"  Our 
Gang,  two. 

PARAMOUNT— "Why  Gorillas  Leave  Home,"  Bobby 
Vernon,  two. 

PATHE— "Untitled,"  Smitty  Series,  No.  4. 

UNIVERSAL — "Shadows,"  Snappy  Comedy,  one; 
"International  Newsreel,"  No.  4;  "Unmasked," 
Mystery  Rider  series.  No.  8,  Desmond,  two;  "Three 
Brox  Sisters,"  Movietone  act,  one;  "Hold  Your 
Horses,"  Mike  and  Ike,  Stern  Bros.,  two;  "In- 
ternational Newsreel,"  No.  5;  "Claim  Jumpers," 
Forest  Ranger  series,  Cobb,  two. 

WEEK  OF  JANUARY  20 

EDUCATIONAL— "Only  Me,"  Lupino  Lane,  two; 
"Untitled,"  Hodge  Podge,  one. 

M  G  M— "Uphill  and  Down,"  oddity;  "Untitled," 
Chase,  two. 

PARAMOUNT— "Happy  Heels,"  Dooley.  two. 

PATHE — "Baby's  Birthday,"  Smith  family  series. 

UNIVERSAL— "Yankee  Clippers,"  Oswald,  one;  "In- 
ternational Newsreel,"  "Doomed,"  Mystery  Riders 
Series  No.  9,  Desmond,  two;  "Bailey  and  Barnum," 
movietone  short,  one;  "The  Winning  Point,"  Col- 
legians, No.  1 1 ;  "Newleyweds  Headache,"  Snookums, 
two;  "International  Newsreel,"  No.  7;  "Men  in  the 
Raw,"  Hoxie  two, 

WEEK  OF  JANUARY  27 

EDUCATIONAL— "Dumb,  and  How,"  Thatcher- 
Young,  Cameo,  one;  "Beauties  Beware,"  Jerry 
Drew,  Ideal,  two. 

M  G  M — "Liberty,"  Laurel-Hardy,  two. 

PATHE — "Uncle  Tom,"  Sennett  De  Luxe  series,  two. 
WEEK  OF  FEBRUARY  4 

M  G  M — "Pair  of  Tights,"  all  star,  two;  "Dying 
Jungle,"  oddity,  one. 

PARAMOUNT— "Papa  Spank,"  MacDuff.  two. 

PATHE — "Calling  Hubby's  Bluff,"  Sennett  series, 
two. 


Newspictures 


PARAMOUNT  NEWS  No.  46— Paramount  newsman 
takes  ride  in  Ferry  8,000  feet  above  ground  in 
France — Airplane  picks  up  mail  while  flying  low 
in  Virginia — Secretary  Mellon  thanks  the  old-timers 
on  completion  of  SO  years  with  Treasury  Depart- 
ment. 

M  G  M  NEWS  No.  41— Thomas  Edison  celebrates 
81st  birthday,  still  working  18  hours  a  day — Gloria 
Caruso,  daughter  of  the  famous  singer  gives  birth- 
day party  in  New  York — President  Coolidge  goes 
hunting  in  Sapelo  Island. 

KTNOGRAMS  No.  5462— Governor  Al  Smith  closes 
25  years  public  service — Swedish  Count  Folke 
Bcrnadotte  sails  to  America  with  his  bride  Miss 
Estelle  Manville — Kinograms  give  review  of  all 
headlight  sports  for  1928. 

FOX  NEWS  No.  29— Williams  and  Amherst  colleges 
play  fast  hockey  game,  Williams  winning — Governor 
Al  Smith  celebrates  his  55th  birthday  in  Capital — 
Chile  gives  President-elect  Hoover  a  rousing  wel- 
come. 

PATHE  SOUND  NEWS  No.  4— Thousands  greet 
Mrs.  McPherson  with  hymns  on  arrival  in  Los 
Angeles — World  gathers  to  pay  tribute  to  Franz 
Schubert  on  100th  anniversary  of  his  death — Wil- 
liam J.  Locke  of  London,  sees  new  novels  told  on 
film  sound. 

INTERNATIONAL  NEWSREEL  No.  1— President 
Coolidge  goes  hunting  with  his  ten-gallon  hat  in 
Sapelo  Island — Chinese  feet  get  plenty  to  do  as 
vintners  make  wine  from  compressed  koulain  flow- 
ers— "Toboggaplane"  is  big  thrill  in  Lake  Placid 
Club,  New  York. 


Roth  at  Vitaphone  Studio 

As  Short  Subject  Director 

Murray  Roth  is  now  at  the  Eastern  Vita- 
phone  studio  in  Brooklyn  as  director  of 
short  subjects  and  assistant  to  Bryan  Foy, 
production  director. 
_  Edmund  Joseph  has  been  signed  to  write 
~'ogue  at  Eastern  Vitaphone  Studio. 


MGM  Speeds  Release  of  Sound; 
26  Acts  Out  Next  Three  Months 

Speeding  up  their  releasing  schedule  because  of  the  public's  enthusiastic  re- 
ception of  sound,  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  will  place  26  new  Metro  Movietone  Acts 
at  the  disposition  of  exhibitors  in  the  first  three  months  of  this  year,  or  two  a 
week.    The  earlier  group  from  Metro  also  consisted  of  26  acts. 


The  list  of  short  sound  acts  which  will  be 
released  semiweekly  from  January  5  to 
March  30  includes  two  talking  playlets, 
"Confession,"  directed  by  Lionel  Barry- 
more,  and  "Nearly  Divorced,"  directed  by 
Lowell  Sherman  and  now  playing  at  the 
Embassy  theatre,  New  York,  as  a  supple- 
mentary attraction  to  "The  Viking."  There 
are  two  of  Gus  Edwards'  song  revues  in 
Technicolor,  or  "colortone  revues,"  and  two 
recordings  each  by  Van  and  Schenck  and 
George  Dewey  Washington,  making  four 
releases  apiece  for  the  magnetic  singing 
comedians  and  the  popular  Negro  baritone. 

While  the  Gus  Edwards  revues  and  the 
playlets  were  made  on  the  coast,  most  of 
the  other  new  shorts  were  recorded  at 
MGM's  New  York  sound  studio,  where 
capacity  production  has  been  attained  un- 
der the  supervision  of  Major  Edward 
Bowes  and  Louis  K.  Sidney,  with  Nick 
Grinde  as  director. 

The  complete  list  of  the  new  subjects 
follows: 

For  release  January  5 — Ukulele  Ike  (Cliff  Edwards), 
with  two  numbers:  (a)  What  a  Night  for  Spoon- 
ing, (b)  Oh,  Baby,  Don't  We  Get  Along.  (2)  A  Gus 
Edwards  song  revue,  made  entirely  in  Technicolor, 
with  a  special  company  of  singers  and  dancers. 

January  12 — (1)  Bernardo  de  Pace,  world's  fore- 
most mandolinist,  in  three  numbers:  (a)  Thais,  (b) 
Ramona  (c)  Morning,  Noon  and  Night.  (2)  "Con- 
fession," Kenyon  Nicholson's  one-act  play,  directed 
by  Lionel  Barrymore,  with  Robert  Ames,  Carroll  Nye, 
and  Yvonne  Stark  in  the  cast. 


January  19 — (1)  Van  and  Schenck  in  two  num- 
bers (a)  Pasta  Vazoola,  (b)  Hungry  Women.  (2) 
"Nearly  Divorced,"  Stanley  Houghton's  one-act  com- 
edy directed  by  Lowell  Sherman,  with  .a  cast  made 
up  of  Sherman,  Cyril  Chadwick  and  Betty  Francisco. 

January  26 — (1)  Metro  Movietone  Revue,  featuring 
Frances  White,  the  Ponce  Sisters,  the  Reynolds  Sis- 
ters and  Joseph  Regan,  with  Jack  Pepper  master 
of  ceremonies.  (2)  Marion  Harris  in  two  numbers 
(a)  He's  Mine,  All  Mine,  and  (b)  Ten  Little  Miles 
from  Town. 

February  2 — (1)  Songs  of  the  Roses,  a  series  of 
unusual  song  and  dance  acts,  done  entirely  in  Tech- 
nicolor, directed  by  Gus  Edwards.  (2)  George  Dewey 
Washington  in  three  numbers  (a)  Lonely  Little  Blue- 


Takes  Lots  o'  Sand  and 
Wool  to  Make  Audiens 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  8.— Making 
sound  pictures  is  a  weighty  proposi- 
tion, judging  from  the  work  recently 
completed  at  the  Educational  studio. 
More  than  150  tons  of  sand  were  used 
under  the  floor  of  Educational's  first 
stage  to  deaden  vibration  in  the  floor 
boards.  Approximately  23  tons  of 
mineral  wool  were  put  in  as  insula- 
tion in  the  walls  to  keep  outside 
noises  from  intruding  into  the  super- 
sensitive microi  hones. 


bird,  (b)  Rainbow  'Round  My  Shoulder,  and  (c) 
Sonny  Boy. 

•  •  • 

February  9 — (1)  George  Lyons,  the  Singing  Harpist, 
in  a  medley  of  vocal  and  instrumental  numbers.  (2) 
Jan  Garbers'  Band  in  two  numbers  (a)  Blue  Shad- 
ows, and  (b)  Tiger  Rag. 

February  16 — (1)  Vincent  Lopez  in  one  instru- 
mental solo,  On  the  Air.  (2)  Miller  and  Lyles  in 
"Jimtown  Cabaret,"  a  comedy  act  with  dialogue,  song 
and  a  dancing  contest. 

February  23 — (1)  Whiting  and  Burt  in  a  novelty 
singing  act  in  four  scenes.  George  Whiting  is  com- 
poser of  the  song  hit,  "My  Blue  Heaven."  (2)  Duci 
de  Kerekjarto  in  two  violin  numbers. 

March  2 — (1)  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Norman  Phillips  and 
Norman  Phillips,  Jr.,  in  a  two-reel  sketch  entitled 
"Parents,"  written  by  Edgar  Allen  Woolf.  (2)  Gor- 
don and  Squires  in  a  .dialogue  and  singing  act. 

•  *  * 

March  9 — (1)  Van  and  Schenck  in  two  numbers: 
(a)  Chinese  Firecracker,  (b)  Way  Down  South  in 
Heaven.  (2)  Eight  Victor  Artists  in  an  act  called 
"Rube  Minstrels,"  The  artists  are  Henry  Burr,  Mon- 
roe Silver,  Billy  Murray,  Frank  Banta,  James  Stan- 
ley, Carl  Mathieu,  and  Sam  Herman  and  Stanley 
Baughman. 

March  16 — (1)  Bob  Nelson  in  a  comedy  singing 
act,  with  three  numbers:  (a)  Everything  I  Do  I  Do 
for  You,  (b)  Berlin  Medley,  (c)  She's  Got  a  Great 
Big  Army  of  Friends  Since  She  Lives  Near  the  Navy 
Yard.  (2)  Phil  Spitalny's  Band,  a  novelty  orchestral 
number  featuring,  in  addition  to  Spitalny  and  his 
Hotel  Pennsylvania  orchestra,  the  Penn  Trio,  the 
Paul  Sisters,  8  Chester  Hale  girls  and  Al  Wohlman 
as  master  of  ceremonies. 

Mar.  23 — (1)  George  Dewey  Washington  in  three 
numbers:  (a)  Lonely  Vagabond,  (b)  The  Sun  Is 
Shining  at  My  Window,  and  (c)  The  Curtain  Comes 
Down.  (2)  Elsa  Ersi  and  Nat  Ayers  in  two  num- 
bers, (a)  She  Was  Wonderful,  (b)  When  You  Be- 
longed to  Me. 

Mar.  30 — (1)  Odette  Myrtil  in  a  special  instru- 
mental subject,  "The  Dancing  Master."  (2)  Sunshine 
Sammy  in  a  novelty  act. 


Educational  Films  Lead 
In  Number  of  Pictures 

Approved  by  Catholics 

Rev.  Francis  Talbot,  S.  J.,  literary  edi- 
tor of  America,  Catholic  weekly,  and  chair- 
man of  the  Catholic  Book-a-Month  Club, 
broadcasting  Thursday  evening,  January  3, 
over  station  WLWL  on  the  subject  of 
"Endorsed  Motion  Pictures,"  praised  Edu- 
cational on  the  fact  that  this  company  had 
the  greatest  number  of  endorsed  subjects 
on  the  "white  list"  of  the  International 
Federation  of  the  Catholic  Alumnae. 

Especial  emphasis  was  given  "The  Lion's 
Roar,"  first  of  the  Mack  Sennett  audien 
comedies,  and  Father  Talbot  urged  that  his 
listeners  prevail  upon  their  local  managers 
to  book  this  subject.    Father  Talbot  said: 

"'The  Lion's  Roar'  is  one  of  the  first 
talking  pictures  to  come  from  that  com- 
pany, and  it  has  been  very  well  done.  The 
color  effects  are  fine,  the  photography  and 
technique  are  exceedingly  interesting." 


Jean  Harloive  Signed 

Hal  Roach  has  signed  Jean  Harlowe, 
Gld^  1    whom  he  "discovered,"  to  a 


50 


EXHIBITORS    HERALD -WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


W 


PRESENTATION  ACTS 


Stereotyped  Units  Are  Not  Clicking 


STAGE  SHOWS 

Chicago  Tivoli 

Week  Ending  January  11 

Frankie  Masters  at  the  Norshore  wae  a  bis  hit  and 
attraction.  Masters  at  the  "Tower  was  another  hit 
and  Masters  now  at  the  Tivoli  Ls  proving  to  be  a 
drawing  card  of  both  female  and  male  sex.  Go  into 
the  Tivoli  any  time  and  you  will  see  all  the  front 
seats  filled  with  girls  casting  dreamy  eyes  on  that 
handsome  band  leader.  Masters. 

This  week's  show  was  called.  "Green  Grass"  al- 
though the  weather  thermometer  outside  registered  4 
above.  The  12  Foster  Girls  started  out  with  a  little 
hoofing  and  another  little  girl  did  a  few  spins  that 
got  a  big  hand 

"A  Southern  Vanity"  was  played  by  the  orchestra 
and  Masters  sang  the  chorus.  To  make  it  complete 
the  Trombone  player.  Drummer  and  Masters  sang  a 
melody  that  clicked.  This  trio  no  doubt  should  be 
used  again  for  they  harmonize  well  together. 

The  Three  Slate  Brothers  showed  the  audience  some 
classy  dancing.  The  trio  started  out  with  a  plain 
dance,  then  did  a  better  one  and  finished  with  a 
corking  applause. 

Vivian  and  Rossette,  love  singeis.  helped  out  by  the 
Foster  Girls,  were  a  nice  part  of  the  program.  The 
two  did  not  receive  enough  applause  for  their  act. 

Eight  here  the  orchestra  played,  "Doing  the  Rac- 
coon." It  must  be  said  that  this  orchestra  offers 
one  some  hot  numbers  and  novelties  are  their  spe- 
cialties. This  number  was  good  but  "Must  You  Wear 
a  Mustache,"  by  the  same  orchestra  will  never  be 
forgotten. 

Handers  and  Mills,  a  pair  of  comedians  that  are 
above  the  average  offered  a  ten  minute  act  of  jokes 
and  funny  stunts.  They  hit  and  the  orchestra  played 
to  start  another  act.    The  claps  stopped. 

The  ending  was  an  eye  opener.  Two  horses  run- 
ning on  a  treadmill  proved  a  real  novelty  and  it  was 
well  staged.  It  was  a  pleasing  presentation  and 
Masters  will  stick  there.    The  patrons  like  him. 


San  Francisco  War  field 

Week  Ending  January  4 

Some  good  gravy  was  spilled  on  the  stage  of  the 
Warfield  theatre  this  week  when  "Chicken  a  la  King" 
was  offered  as  the  principal  attraction  on  the  menu. 
As  usual,  this  was  a  Fanchon  and  Marco  presenta- 
tion, and  starred  no  other  than  Will  King,  a  local 
favorite,  who  held  forth  here  for  years  with  a  girl 
show,  and  who  has  a  wonderful  personal  following. 
With  Will  King  was  his  old  sidekick.  Lew  Dunbar, 
and  as  fine  a  group  of  girls  a6  has  been  assembled 
in  some  time. 

The  act  opened  with  Rube  Wolf  and  his  merry 
gang  holding  down  the  orchestra  pit  and  they  offered 
"Tambourine,"  arranged  for  orchestra  from  the 
violin  number  of  Fritz  Kreisler.  Oscar  Taylor, 
barytone,  was  introduced  and  sang  a  couple  of  songs, 
while  ten  dancing  girls  went  through  some  graceful 
Oriental  steps.  If  these  girls  wear  the  same  gauze 
garments  in  the  sunlight  as  they  do  on  the  stage 
they  deserve  the  name  of  Sun-kist  Beauties  be- 
stowed on  them.  A  solo  dancer  in  black  offered  an 
artistic  performance  to  the  music  of  "In  a  Persian 
Garden." 

A  charming  miss  sat  on  the  footlights  with  Rube 
Wolf  and  sang  "Don't  Be  Like  That,"  with  Rube 
helping  out  with  a  few  of  the  verses. 

Will  King  and  company  presented  "The  Three 
Sons,"  a  skit  that  brought  down  the  house.  This 
was  followed  by  another  comedy  offering  in  which 
Will  King  imi>ersonated  an  old  woman,  while  Lew 
Dunbar  was  the  husband. 

The  curtain  then  went  up  on  a  cau  Hyams 
{Continued  on  page  Earle 


Billy  Randall 


Above  is  a  likeness  of  Billy  Randall  the  singing- 
violinist-dancer,  who  just  completed  his  third  tour  of 
Publix — at  one  time  Billy  was  featured  in  the  Gus 
Edwards  Revue  and  is  a  product  of  that  star  discov- 
erer. Randall  has  a  unique  routine  and  one  of  the 
few  novelties  that  is  now  playing  combination  thea- 
tres. At  present  he  is  being  featured  over  the  Mar- 
cus Loew  circuit. 


Nadina  Borgi  Booked 

Nadina  Borgi,  famous  European  soprano,  is  being 
featured  in  an  elaborate  singing  act  called,  "The 
Mediterranean  Singers."  The  ensemble  consists  of 
fourteen  splendid  voices  ranging  all  the  way  from 
jazz  to  opera.  Four  of  them  also  bear  the  title  of 
Count  and  Countess.  This  attraction  will  soon  be 
seen  in  deluxe  picture  theatres. 


ROY  DIETRICH 


"The  SUver 
Voiced  Director" 

Featuring 
STAGEBAND 
PRESENTATIONS 

At  the 
"Playhouses  of  the 
World" 

Rotating 
Between 


CAPITOL  and  AVALON 


CHI'JAGO 


Moven.ue. 


Book  Better  Acts 
WithBandshows 
On  Long  Tour 

Give  Masters  of  Ceremonies  More 
Leeway — Revamp  Shows 

Along  the  Route 
By  A.  RAYMOND  GALLO 

Does  the  public  like  syndicated 
stageshows  in  picture  theatres?  You 
have  probably  asked  this  question  of 
yourself  many  times  especially  if  you 
are  a  theatre  owner  or  a  theatre  man- 
ager. Of  course  if  you  are  an  exhibi- 
tor of  a  chain  theatre  circuit  it  will 
not  do  you  much  good  to  even  think 
about  it  for  you  will  receive  these  syn- 
dicated units  until  the  "powers"  deem 
it  advisable  to  make  a  change.  We 
have  always  contended  that  a  syndi- 
cated idea  cannot  and  will  not  work 
successful  in  the  entertainment  field 
for  the  simple  reason  that  a  show  put 
together  in  New  York  loses  all  its 
flavor  and  freshness  by  the  time  it  gets 
to  Chicago. 

We  have  tried  to  reason  this  matter  out 
with  the  important  executives  on  the  vari- 
ous circuits  and  for  a  while  things  were  go- 
ing along  smoothly  with  a  local  producer 
stationed  in  each  territory.  However  since 
that  time,  which  is  close  to  a  year  ago, 
some  efficiency  expert  has  gotten  the  noble 
idea  into  his  head  that  if  Sears  &  Roebuck 
can  manufacture  suits  on  a  carload  basis 
and  sell  through  the  mail  all  over  the  coun- 
try, why  not  work  the  same  arrangement 
in  the  presentation  field.  That  has  been 
the  main  downfall  of  chain  theatre  opera- 
tion and  by  that  we  mean  that  one  in- 
dividual or  a  group  of  individuals  have 
tried  to  force  the  same  type  of  entertain- 
ment, fashioned  after  one  model,  to  every- 
body in  the  amusement  seeking  world. 
Whether  these  people  were  in  New  York 
City  or  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  made  no  dif- 
ference, for  in  accordance  with  th°;_  way 
of  planning,  the  show  was  good  enough 
for  anybody. 

Public  Taste  Varies  All  Over 

There  is  no  question  that  in  every 
there  has  been  honest  intentions  behind 
the  moves  and  production  of  several  stage 
units,  but  it  seems  that  since  people  have 
been  old  enough  to  seek  entertainment  they 
have  also  been  different  in  what  they 
sought,  and  by  that  we  mean  that  yo 
not  expect  an  eastern  stage  offerin  it 
has  taken  the  public  off  its  feet,  to  da  the 
same  thing  in  another  territory  wit'  W" 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-VVORLD 


51 


ORGAN 

PRESENTATIONS  OF 

GREAT  SONGS 

SMALL  SLIDE  SETS 

THE  SONG  I  LOVE 
MY  INSPIRATION 

IS  YOU 
I'LL  NEVER  ASK 

FOR  MORE 
YOU'LL  NEVER  KNOW 
ARE  WE  DOWN- 
HEARTED? NO! 
MOONLIGHT  MADNESS 
SALLY  OF  MY  DREAMS 

(Theme  of  "Mother  Knows  Best") 

MY  TONIA 

(Theme  of  "In  Old  Arizona") 

MARION 

(Theme  of  "4  Devils") 

JUDY 

(Theme  of  "Romance  of  the  Under- 
world")   

We  Also  Have  Small  Sets  of 
Slides  for  All  Songs  Listed  Under 
Specials 


SPECIALS 


"OPEN  SECRETS" 

Introducing 

THAT'S  HOW  I  FEEL 
ABOUT  YOU 

(Perfect  for  Community) 

"LOVE— AND  A  PET  NAME" 

Introducing 

ANGELA  MIA 

(A  Beautiful  Presentation) 

"A  MEDLEY  OF  GREAT 
PICTURE  THEME  SONGS" 

Containing 

SONNY  BOY 

(Theme  of  "The  Singing  Fool") 

SOME  DAY 

SOMEWHERE 

(Theme  of  "The  Red  Dance") 

ANGELA  MIA 

(Theme  of  "Street  Angel") 

NOTE:  The  Theme  Song  Medley  Can 
Be  Presented  with  Marvelous  Results  in 
Conjunction  with  the  Al  Jolson  Bruns- 
wick Record.   Ask  tor  Particulars. 

Write  for  All  Slides  and 
Information  to 

SAM  LERNER,  Mgr.  of  Publicity 

DE  SYLVA.  BROWN  & 
HENDERSON,  INC.  - 

745  7tl;  Ave.,  New  York  City 


ferent  class  of  people  whose  taste  and  opin- 
ions vary.  The  same  thing  applies  to  Chi- 
cago, Los  Angeles,  or  any  other  important 
key  city.  Their  own  particular  type  of  en- 
tertainment might  be  a  huge  success  in 
their  own  community  and  a  terrible  flop  in 
another  territory. 

The  only  sensible  way  to  make  presenta- 
tion pay  in  deluxe  picture  houses  is  not  to 
give  the  same  type  of  stage  show  as  it  is 
produced  in  one  town.  The  idea  of  keep- 
ing a  unit  intact  is  fine  from  the  standpoint 
of  costumes  and  scenery,  but  when  it 
comes  to  arranging  the  talent,  that  should 
rest  entirely  upon  the  local  situation  and 
should  be  programmed  in  accordance  with 
the  likes  of  that  particular  audience  which 
the  theatre  is  trying  to  cater  to.  Besides 
if  the  master  of  ceremonies  means  anything 
to  the  theatre,  which  in  the  past  few  years 
has,  he  should  be  given  an  opportunity  to 
display  his  individual  wares  and  not  be 
hampered  by  a  stereotyped  speech. 
Give  the  M.  C.  Something  to  Do 

The  future  success  of  stage  shows  with 
personality  band  leaders  who  also  act  in 
the  role  of  masters  of  ceremonies  depend 
on  this  ^ery  same  thing.  By  robbing  the 
band  leaders  of  their  individual  capabilities 
you  will  just  have  an  ordinary  man  on  the 
stage  directing  the  band.  After  all  any 
musician  can  pretend  to  direct  and  once  he 
assumes  the  part  of  a  hundred  and  one 
others  your  audience  will  immediately  lose 
interest  in  him  and  the  result  will  be  shown 
at  your  box  office. 

It  has  been  learned  from  past  reports 
and  constant  survey  that  independent  pic- 
ture houses  produce  a  more  entertaining 
stage  show  than  the  big  chain  operators. 
The  reason  for  this  is  very  easy  to  under- 
stand for  the  reason  that  they  do  not  try 
to  stage  an  idea  that  will  endeavor  to 
please  forty  different  towns.  Each  show  is 
produced  with  enough  human  interest  of 
a  universal  appeal  and  yet  with  enough  of 
the  local  color  in  it  to  make  it  entertaining 
from  every  standpoint.  The  lines  are 
timely,  the  jokes  are  not  so  stale,  and  the 
songs  are  new  and  up  to  date.  The  very 
same  thing  could  be  accomplished  by  the 
large  circuits  by  placing  a  capable  pro- 
ducer in  certain  territories  where  the  unit 
is  expected  to  fill  more  than  one  week's 
engagement.  This  producr  should  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  desires  of  the  local 
audience  and  should  try  to  cooperate  with 
the  management  in  presenting  the  enter- 
tainment in  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
wanted. 

In  towns  where  the  units  play  only  one  week  and 
the  circuit  has  only  one  theatre  it  would  be  wise  to 
appoint  either  the  theatre  manager  or  the  band  leader 
to  make  the  proper  and  necessary  changes  in  the 
stage  show  each  week.  By  allowing  each  and  every 
member  of  the  theatre  staff  to  observe  the  wants 
of  the  audience  and  accepting  their  suggestions  means 

(  only  one  thing  to  the  chain  theatre  operator  and  that 
thing  is  a  steady,  satisfied  patronage,  with  a  steady 
flow  at  the  box  office. 

When   less  thought  is  given   to  the  possibility  of 

I  hiring  cheap  talent  because  of  the  fact  that  they  will 
have  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  weeks  of  consecutive 
work,  the  more  successful  stagehand  shows  and  pre- 
sentation offerings  will  go  over  in  deluxe  picture 
theatres.  Instead  of  trying  to  save  a  few  hundred 
dollars  on  the  talent  and  losing  a  few  thousand  at 
the  box  office,  executives  and  booking  managers 
should  devote  more  time  in  giving  the  public  enough 

:  for  their  money  so  that  they  may  feel  obligated  to 
patronize  your  theatres. 

Don't  Be  Penny  Wise  and  Pound  Foolish 
Trying  to  eliminate  stage  programs  and  cutting  or- 

!  gan  solos  may  cut  down  your  overhead  but  in  the 

■  long  run  it  may  also  cut  your  profits  and  there  is 
a  good  possibility  of  killing  your  own  business  by 
overdoing  it.  When  every  theatre,  regardless  of 
its  size  and  location,  will  present  talking  pictures 
what  are  the  deluxe  houses  going  to  do  to  keep  up 
their  business?  What  will  you  offer  as  an  induce- 
ment to  keep  the  patrons  coming  to  your  theatre? 
What  will  any  sensible  exhibitor  do  who  has  a  de- 
luxe house  of  2,000  seats  or  up?  Why,  he  will 
go  right  back  to  presentation  and  featured  organists, 
otherwise  there  is  no  distinction  between  a  deluxe 
theatre    and    a    small    neighborhood    picture  house. 

Rather  than  do  this  later,  why  not  retain  the 
good  will  of  your  people  by  making  your  talking 
picture  offerings  a  part  of  your  program  and  not 
the  most  important  feature  of  it?  Then  on  the  other 
hand,  if  you  have  a  stage  band  and  an  organist  make 
sure  you  give  them  something  worth  while  to  do 
each  week  so  that  the  audience  will  not  tire  of 
them. 


Your  theatre  should  occupy  the  same  important 
position  in  your  town  as  that  of  a  civic  organiza- 
tion or  any  other  enterprise  for  the  promotion  of 
goodwill  and  entertainment.  Your  attractions,  whether 
in  stagehand  form  or  otherwise,  should  be  the  local 
stock  company  and  your  permanent  staff  should  be 
responsible  for  the  proper  entertainment  that  will 
fill  your  theatres  at  each  show. 


Presentation 

LETTERS 

In  this  open  forum  those  interested  in  presen- 
tation may  discuss  important  matters  bearing 
upon  this  phase  of  theatre  entertainment.  Only 
signed  letters  will  be  published. 


PRESENTATION  ACTS— To  the  Editor:  Organ 
solo  for  week  ending  Jan.  5th,  Smoot  theatre,  Par- 
kersburg,  W.  Va.,  Wm.  J.  Cowdrey,  Organist. 

In  conjunction  with  the  showing  next  week  of 
"The  Singing  Fool,"  the  organ  solo  entitled,  "What 
Will  the  New  Year  Bring"  using  appropriate  slides 
connected  up  the  two  pictures  starring  Al  Jolson, 
"The  Jazz  Singer"  and  the  "Singing  Fool." 

After  an  introductory  five  slides,  the  chorus  of 
"Mammy"  was  played  along  with  Brunswick  record 
No.  3912,  Jolson  singing.  Then  "Sonny  Boy."  with 
Brunswick  record  No.  4033,  and  "There's  a  Rainbow 
'Round  My  Shoulder,"  same  record. 

Records  were  used  on  the  non-synchronous  section 
of  the  Western  Electric  equipment.  Slide  set  closed 
with  a  New  Year's  greeting  from  the  organist  to  the 
audience.  Sincerely  yours,  Wm.  J.  Cowdrey,  Parkers- 
burg,  West  Va. 


Whitmer  Made  Publix  M.C. 

Wallace  Allen,  publicity  director,  and  George  Laby. 
manager  of  the  Olympia  theatre  in  New  Haven, 
a  Publix  house,  sold  a  new  master  of  ceremonies 
to  the  town  by  an  exceptional  publicity  campaign. 
For  more  than  a  week  all  the  newspapers  ran  advance 
news  of  the  coming  new  master  of  ceremonies,  Ken 
Whitmer. 

Every  other  conceivable  form  of  outdoor  billing 
and  window  tie-up  was  also  arranged  so  that  when 
Whitmer  opened  the  public  already  were  familiar 
with  his  talents. 


Specht  Gets  Honors 

After  an  extensive  survey  the  Hoover-Curtis  club 
has  finally  selected  Paul  Specht  and  his  orchestra  to 
play  for  the  Inaugural  Charity  Ball  at  the  presiden- 
tial affair  on  March  4th.  This  information  comes 
from  Mathew  Quay,  president  of  the  club.  Those 
knowing  Specht  feel  that  this  is  quite  an  honor  and 
cannot  help  but  admire  the  selection,  for  he  is  one 
of  the  best  in  the  profession. 


Reiser  Returns 

After  completing  a  four  weeks'  engagement  as 
guest  conductor  at  the  Stanley  theatre  in  Utica. 
Alois  Reiser  has  returned  to  the  Mark  Strand  in 
New  York  as  musical  conductor.  During  his  stay  in 
Utica  Mr.  Reiser  was  presented  with  a  beautiful  sil- 
ver cup  in  appreciation  of  his  work  and  good  fellow- 
ship. 


Hammond  Transferred 

W.  Meryle  (Jake)  Hammond,  formerly  sole  organ- 
ist at  the  Strand  theatre.  Kendallville,  Indiana,  has 
been  transferred  to  the  Strand  theatre  in  Fremont. 
Ohio,  in  a  similar  capacity.  Jake,  as  he  is  better 
known  by  his  friends  is  the  author  of  "Five  Left 
Hand  Forms"  an  article  that  was  recently  pub- 
lished in  the  Better  Theatres  section  of  the  Herald- 
World. 


Playing  Loew  Time 

Pedro  Rubin,  known  as  Mexico'6  foremost  dancer 
and  late  dancing  star  of  Ziegfeld's  "Rio  Rita."  is 
now  headlining  on  the  Marcus  Loew  circuit.  Rubin 
has  been  booked  through  the  Alf  T.  Wilton  agency. 
Rubin  is  well  known  throughout  the  country  as  a 
director  and  producer  of  famous  Spanish  dancers  and 
he  is  also  the  creator  of  the  dancing  teams  in  "Rio 
Rita." 


Art  Hayes  in  Memphis 

Arthu  "->ves,  well  known  6olo  organist  and  for 
years  feafTui.^  in  deluxe  picture  houses  has  left  the 
Orpheum  theatre  in  Madison,  Wis.,  and  is  now  at 
the  Orpheum  in  Memphis.  This  theatre  is  now  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  Radio-Keith-Orpheum  Cor- 
poration. 


52 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


STAGE  SHOWS 


(Continued  from  page  50) 

the  band  on  the  Ptape  and  the  chorus  in  action. 
Rube  Wolf  announced  that  next  week  would  be  his 
last  at  the  War  field  and  suggested  that  as  his  musical 
organization  would  be  without  a  leader  it  might  be 
well  for  the  members  to  get  used  to  it  and  play 
without  him.  A  number  was  offered  without  a 
director,  while  Rube  strolled  through  the  house. 

Oscar  Taylor  sang  "Roses  of  Yesterday"  and 
"Sonny  Boy"  and  Will  King  and  Lew  Dunbar  took 
part  in  a  vampire  act  in  a  cabaret  setting.  Both 
fell  for  the  wiles  of  the  vampire,  which  Will  King 
recognized  as  "what  they  have  at  baseball  games." 

The  act  came  to  a  close  with  the  serving  of 
"Chicken  a  la  King."  Girls  came  on  dressed  to 
represent  the  ingredients  of  the  dish,  pimento,  green 
pepper,  salt,  mushroom  sauce,  creamy  sauce,  and 
finally  chicken.  The  grand  finale  was  reached  when 
a  back  curtain  went  up  revealing  to  view  a  huge 
dish  surrounded  by  lovely  girls  and  Will  King,  dressed 
as  a  chef,  wielding  an  enormous  spoon. 


Detroit  Capitol 

Week  Ending  January  4 

"Make  Believe"  was  the  title  of  the  Publix  revue 
at  the  Capitol  this  week,  in  which  some  clever  en- 
tertainers took  part. 

There  was,  for  instance,  Johnny  Perkins,  fatter 
and  funnier  than  ever.  Johnny  is  the  rotund  come- 
dian who  assisted  Fred  Stritt  so  long  and  so  ably 
when  that  popular  master  of  ceremonies  held  forth 
at  the  State  theatre  here.  And  plenty  of  Johnny's 
local  admirers  were  on  hand  last  week  to  welcome  him 
back  to  Detroit. 

Then  there  was  Billy  Meyers,  a.  singer,  and  Cafrey 
and  Miller,  two  capable  dancers. 

It  has  been  a  long  time  since  we  have  seen  a 
juggler.  Wilford  DuBois  proved  to  be  one  and  a 
darned  good  one.  Then  there  was  Doris  Roche,  a 
vocalist,  and  of  course  the  petite  Capitol  Girls. 

The  stage  settings  were  attractive  and  the  show 
moved  at  a  fast  pace. 

"Poet  and  Peasant,"  always  a  favorite  overture, 
was  played  by  the  Capitol  Symphony  Orchestra 
directed  by  Emil  Hollander,  Miller  and  Lyle  were 
seen  in  a  Movietone  sketch,  "The  Speakeasy."  scream- 
ingly funny  to  this  town  at  least,  where  there  art- 
six  such  establishments  on  the  four  corners  of  one 
busy  downtown  intersection.     Believe  it  or  not ! 


Milwaukee  Wisconsin 

Week  Ending  January  4 

"Resolutions'*  with  a  Russian  atmosphere  and  set- 
ting finds  Dave  Apallon  acting  as  master  of  cere- 
monies this  week.  There  are  several  other  numbers 
but  when  all  is  said  and  done,  Dave  and  his  Manila 
band  are  the  whole  show.  The  presentation  opens 
with  the  "Volga  Boat  Song"  by  the  gang  followed  by 
a  snappy  dance  by  the  ten  Torney  Dancers  in  Rus- 
sian costumes  to  the  tune  of  "Soma.'* 

Dave  Apallon  then  makes  his  appearance  and  leads 
the  orchestra  through  a  fine  symphonic  arrangement 
of  "On  the  Road  to  Mandalay."  The  Torney  Danc- 
ers again  make  their  appearance  while  Dave  sup- 
ports them  with  his  accordion  and  steps  a  few  mean 
Russian  steps  himself. 

Ilomay  Bailey,  who  never  fails  to  make  a  hit  in 
Milwaukee,  obliges  in  her  usual  fine  manner  with 
"She's  Funny  That  Way"  and  "I  Can't  Give  You 
Anything  but  Love."  The  latter  number  Dave  ac- 
companies her  on  the  mandolin,  and  then  he  pro- 
ceeds to  give  a  clever  exhibition'  by  playing  the 
piano  and  mandolin  at  the  same  time.  He  is  plenty 
versatile  and  manages  to  slip  in  a  bit  of  humor 
which  keeps  the  audience  bubbling  all  the  while. 

The  next  number  is  by  an  announced  miss  who 
sings  "Mississippi  Mud"  but  whose  dancing  is  the 
high  spot  of  her  act.     She  is  plenty  good. 

Another  dance  by  the  Torney  Dancers  augmented 
by  Dave  closes  the  show  while  confetti  drops  from 
above  the  stage  and  a  backdrop  is  lifted  to  disclose 
a  long  legged  stork  with  glasses  dropping  infant  '29 
into  waiting  chimney.  The  entire  presentation  is  well 
done  thanks  to  Apallon  who  was  one  of  the  best  ver- 
satile band  leaders  on  the  Wisconsin  stage  for  many 
a  moon. 


Seattle  Seattle 

Week  Ending  January  1 

Increased  patronage  during  Christmas  week  was 
secured  by  a  wonderful  aggregation  of  stage  talent 
brought  here  by  Fanchon  &  Marco  in  their  "Frivols 
Idea"  with  the  outstanding  artist  "Red"  Corcoran 
and  his  talking  banjo. 

The  Octet  from  the  Steppes  put  over  some  har- 
monious effects  in  Russian  musical  offerings.  The 
12  Sunkist  Beauties  had  no  trouble  in  securing  their 
share  of  attention  in  some  fast  stepping. 

"Happy"  Phil  Lampkin  and  his  Revelers  gave  se- 
ltctions  from  "Student  Prince,"  while  Norma 
Shearer  6cored  again  in  "A  Lady  of  Chance,"  and 
all  acts  repeated  for  the  New  Year's  Midnight  Frolics 
which  established  a  house  record. 


George  Dewey  Washington 


99 


"Just  Songs 

Third  Year  with  PUBLIX  and 
Still  a  Sensation 


Just  Completed  Four  Weeks  Engagement  with 
PAUL  ASH  at  the  Brooklyn  Paramount 

Being  Starred  by  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  in  Movietone  Short  Subjects 
Two  Are  Now  Being  Released  All  Over  the  Country 

Direction — William  Morris  Agency 


CECIL  DAVIDSON 

Master  of  Ceremonies 

Putting  Over  the 

NORTH  CENTER  THEATRE,  CHICAGO 

With  His  Gang 


New  Haven  Olympia 

Week  Ending  December  27 

"Cheerio,"  the  Publix  stage  show  produced  by 
Paul  Oscard  is  very  weak  in  talent  and  it  is  under- 
stood that  changes  will  be  made  before  it  plays  the 
Paramount.  New  York,  in  two  weeks.  Jack  North 
scored  the  biggest  hit  with  his  songs. 

Grace  and  Marie  Eline  were  not  strong  enough  to 
hold  up  the  comedy  end.  The  Foster  Girls  did  three 
numbers  and  Ken  Whitmer  with  the  stage  band  did 
as  good  as  usual. 

Raymond  Pike  did  a  dancing  specialty  while  jug- 
gling and  Marie  White,  a  toe  dancer,  failed  to  show 
anything  above  average  for  a  solo  dancer. 


Kansas  City  Mainstreet 

Week  Ending  January  5 

Patti  Moore  and  Sammy  Lewis  were  given  work 
a-plenty  in  the  stage  program  at  the  Mainstreet 
theatre,  appearing  in  two  other  acts  on  the  program 
after  they  had  finished  their  regular  number.  Their 
regular  act  consisted  of  a  bit  of  dancing,  some  vocal 
numbers  and  clever  repartee,  while  their  bit  in  addi- 
tional acts  was  comprised  of  timely  entrances  with 
vocal  and  dance  numbers,  as  well  as  dialogue. 

Then  there  was  Frank  DeVoe,  a  singer  extraor- 
dinary, whom  the  audiences  seemed  to  like  im- 
mensely. Johnny  Sully  and  Muerill  Thomas  offered 
a  number  featuring  fast  repartee.  They  have  an 
unlimited  number  of  jokes. 

Walter  Davison  and  hifi  Louisville  Loons,  the  thea- 
tre's stage  orchestra,  offer  specialty  musical  num- 
bers of  their  own,  besides  being  drafted  to  assist  in 
the  proceedings  of  other  acts. 

Harlan  Christie,  master  of  ceremonies,  again  is 
seen  in  his  usual  lively  role  that  goes  a  long  way 
in  putting  over  the  show  in  a  big  way. 


Salt  Lake  City  Pantages 

Week  Ending  December  22 

An  appropriate  holiday  program  was  offered  this 
week.  The  act  titled  "Silks  and  Satins,"  was  a 
very  pleasing  headliner,  consisting  of  an  array  of 
snappy  songs  and  dances.  A  Spanish  orchestra, 
under  the  leadership  of  Davolis,  assisted  by  a  num- 
ber of  Spanish  girls  in  an  assortment  of  dance 
creations,  with  an  elaborate  6tage  background,  car- 
ried off  the  laurels  of  the  evening's  entertainment 
each  night  during  the  week. 

A  local  monologist  and  one  who  has  been  creating 
considerable  comment  with  his  radio  broadcasts, 
billed  as  "The  Senator  from  Sand  Pit"  was  well 
received  in  his  dialogue  and  musical  offerings. 

John  Orren  &  Company  presented  a  novelty  offer- 
ing called  "Mike  at  the  Piano,"  which  act  portrays 
Mike  as  the  town  "hick"  who  has  an  array  of  very 
pleasing  imitations. 

The  screen  attraction  this  past  week  was  "A  Single 
Man"  and  a  very  good  week  was  enjoyed  for  the 
pie-Christmas  season. 


Minneapolis  Minnesota 

Week  Ending  January  4 

This  week's  offering  at  the  Minnesota,  "Blossoms," 
C.  A.  Niggemeyer's  sparkling  production,  will  be 
counted  as  one  of  the  best  staged  at  this  theatre  for 
a  long  time.  It  is  a  harmony  of  spectacular  pagean- 
try and  colorful  versatility.  The  curtain  rises  on  a 
scene  of  a  shady  glen  amidst  a  myriad  of  blossoms. 
An  artist,  Arthur  Ball,  singing  "Blossoms"  gives  it  a 
touch  of  life. 

The  Foster  Girls,  nattily  attired  in  the  "juvenilish- 
ly  sober"  Eton  boys'  clothes,  do  some  well-tutored 
fancy  steps,  that  delight  the  eye  of  the  spectator. 

Dolores  and  Eddy  then  come  upon  the  scene,  as 
the  "Bowery  yegg  and  his  goil"  and  do  some  trick 
dancing.  Dolores  is  so  tiny  she  seems  to  be  a  little 
doll  at  the  side  of  Eddie  and  he  handles  her  as  care- 
lessly as  one  made  of  rag.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  little 
Dolores  "top6  the  show"  by  the  peal  of  applause  that 
follows  the  act. 

The  Foster  Girls  then  come  up  again,  dressed  in 
cute  little  outfits  of  yellow  and  blue,  along  with 
Arthur  Ball  who  sings,  "I  Can't  Give  You  Anything 
but  Love." 

Al  Mitchell  and  the  Serenaders  then  play  "Moon- 
light and  Roses,"  while  Gertrude  Lutzy  and  Edward 
Lindstrom,  vocalists,  give  a  splendid  duet  in  Jacob 
Heidrick's  clever  arrangement  of  the  song. 

Paul  Kirkland  in  a  balancing  cone  and  ladder 
(Continued  on  next  page) 


BEN  ROSS 


THE  SINGING  MASTER  OF  CEREMONIES 

Alternating  at  the 

STA*  ~£Y,  Jersey  City,  N.J.  -  BRANFORD,  Newark,  N.J. 
and  WOWING  THEM 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


53 


LOSAXS  STAGE  SHOWS 


Something 
about 

Everyone 


GREETINGS!  ...  As  Larry  Spier  says,  now  that 
Christmas  and  New  Year's  is  over  let  us  get  down 
to  business.  ...  At  least  what  is  left  of  it  in  the 
show  world.  ...  I  suppose  you  all  read  the  papers 
even  if  you  are  in  a  town  where  it  comes  out  once  a 
week  providing  the  corner  bank  does  not  force  the 
mortgage  on  it.  .  .  .  Well,  at  any  rate  the  point  I 
was  driving  at  is  that  you  all  know  by  this  time  that 
the  Question  Mark,  the  great  army  U.  S.  plane  is 
down  from  the  endurance  contest  and  has  broken  the 
world's  record  by  staying  up  in  the  air  151  hours. 
.  .  .  Some  of  our  friend  organists  stay  up  in  the  air 
always,  especially  when  sound  pictures  take  their 
place  in  a  theatre.  .  .  .  But  who  cares,  says  Don 
Isham,  he  can  also  fly  a  ship  besides  playing  the  or- 
gan and  it  pays  to  be  handy  these  days.  .  .  .  The 
guy  who  said  that  a  Jack  of  all  trades  is  master  of 
none,  is  all  wet  for  Benny  Meroff  has  made  himself  a 
master  of  ceremonies,  that  is  a  silent  one  and  that's 
pretty  good  considering  all  the  talking  the  others  do 
for  no  reason  at  all.  .  .  .  Well,  let's  go  on  with  the 
news  here,  we  are  not  paid  to  write  gags  for  Johnny 
Perking  to  steal,  so  here's  the  weekly  scandal.  .  .  . 
Word  reaches  us  that  the  U.  A.  theatre  in  Chicago 
cuts  out  its  orchestra  next  week.  .  .  .  Another  house 
has  gone  mad  "talking"  pictures.  .  .  .  Ken  Whitmer, 
is  the  new  m.c.  at  the  Olympia  theatre  in  New 
Haven.  .  .  .  George  Laby  is  managing  the  house  and 
Wallace  R.  Allen  is  the  P.  A.  .  .  .  Speaking  of  mas- 
ters of  ceremonies  do  you  know  that  our  old  Chicago 
friend.  Al  Belasco,  is  now  at  the  Wisconsin  in  Mil- 
waukee. .  .  .  Ben  Ross  took  his  place  in  Newark. 
.  .  .  Don't  weaken  organists  !  If  the  "talkies"  bother 
you  just  become  a  m.c.  .  .  .  Bill  Bennett  is  one  and 
Milton  Slosser  tried  it  and  now  Con  Maffie  has  gone 
and  done  it  while  Vic  Insirillo  is  home  sick.  .  .  . 
Maffie  is  still  in  Houston.  .  .  .  Bob  Hope  has  taken 
Ted  Leary's  place  at  the  Stratford  theatre  in  Chi- 
cago. ...  Ed  Lowry  is  back  at  the  Missouri  after 
being  ill  and  Slosser  is  back  at  the  organ  after  pinch- 
hitting  for  him.  .  .  .  Horace  Heidt  is  to  replace 
Robe  Wolf  at  the  Granada  in  Frisco  when  he  leaves 
for  six  months.  .  .  .  Lubin,  Larry  &  Andre  are  fea- 
tured at  the  Chicago  Palace  this  week.  .  .  .  Ted 
Lewis  will  start  a  tour  of  B.  &  K.  theatres  next 
week.  .  .  .  Tom  Brown  and  Buster  West  are  now- 
playing  at  the  Marks  Bros,  houses.  .  .  .  Jake  Ham- 
mond, formerly  featured  organist  in  Kendallville. 
Ind.,  is  now  at  the  Strand  in  Fremont,  Ohio.  .  .  . 
Alvin  Evans  is  playing  his  fifth  guest  engagement  at 
the  Rialto  in  Joliet  as  solo  organist.  .  .  .  Leo  Terry 
was  there  for  over  a  year.  .  .  .  Eddie  Hanson  is  now 
guest  organist  at  the  B.  &  K.  Congress  theatre. 
...  He  was  also  at  the  Belpark  and  the  rest  of  the 
Chicago  houses.  .  .  .  Leonard  Lee,  organist  at  the 
Madison  theatre  in  Peoria,  was  a  Chicago  visitor 
last  week.  .  .  .  Willie  Horowitz  just  returned  from 
New  York  and  reports  that  "I  Faw  Down  and  Go 
Boom,"  is  a  big  hit  for  his  firm.  .  .  .  "Our  Gang," 
just  completed  a  comedy  called.  "I  Faw  Down."  .  .  . 
"What  a  break  for  Donaldson,  Douglas  &  Gumble. 
I.  .  .  Constantine  Bakaleinikoff,  director  of  the  Cri- 
terion theatre  orchestra  in  Los  Angeles,  is  to  score 
and  synchronize  "The  Younger  Generation,"  a  Co- 
lumbia photoplay.  .  .  .  Joseph  Cherniavsky,  the 
musical  director  for  Universal  Picture  Corporation, 
is  scoring  the  "Show  Boat."  .  .  .  "Love  Dreams."  is 
the  theme  song  of  "Alias  Jimmy  Valentine,"  an 
M  G  M  picture.  .  .  .  Robbins  Music  Corp.  is  pub- 
lishing the  song  and  other  themes  for  the  film  pro- 
ducer. .  .  .  Lina  Basquette,  stage  and  screen  star  and 
widow  of  the  late  Sam  Warner,  is  to  star  in  a 
Fanchon  &  Marco  unit  over  West  Coast  Theatres. 
■  .  .  Bruce  Fowler,  formerly  manager  for  several  B. 
&  K.  Chicago  theatres,  i6  now  director  of  personnel 
for  West  Coast  in  place  of  Jack  Mansfield  who  has 
been  promoted.  .  .  .  Richard  Spier,  is  now  city  man- 
ager of  West  Coast  Theatres  in  Tacoma.  .  .  .  Ruth 
Simons,  wife  of  Seymour  Simons,  Detroit  bandleader, 
died  of  the  "flu"  two  weeks  ago.  .  .  .  Mabel  Duggan, 
■  head  of  the  International  Vaudeville  Exchange  of  De- 
troit is  a  bankrupt.  .  .  .  Leo  Feist,  Inc.,  are  coming 
out  with  another  edition  of  "My  Man,"  which  Fannie 
Brice  has  gone  and  put  into  a  Vitaphone  of  the 
same  name.  ...  If  you  want  to  buy  a  car  of  any 
make  or  anything  at  all  be  sure  to  seek  the  advice 
of  W.  S.  Russell  of  this  department  before  you  pay 
out  your  good  money.  .  .  .  Adios  until  next  week. 


(Continued  from  preceding  page) 

climbing  exhibition  both  thrills  and  amuses  the  audi- 
ence. His  efforts  at  balancing  a  cone  in  his  ear  and 
then  transferring  it  to  the  other  ear  without  usint; 
his   hands    is    laugh  provoking. 

Dolores,  Eddie  and  Salmonoff  are  the  outstanding 
feature  of  the  stage  6how.  This  adagio  team,  pre- 
senting a  routine  that  combines  effectively  the  spec- 
tacular with  the  beautiful,  have  a  sense  of  rhythm 
and  co-ordination  that  is  developed  to  an  unusual 
degree.  They  toss  little  Dolores  around  with  an 
abandon  that  seems  reckless,  but  she  survives  despite 
the  contortions,  twists  and  near-falls  she  endures. 

The  finale  is  worthy  of  a  Moulin  Rouge,  from 
which  it  probably  gets  its  inception.  The  invisible, 
up  to  this  time,  mill  has  a  wheel  the  spokes  of  which 
are  beautiful  girls,  tied  with  golden  cords.  Along 
the  sides  are  the  Foster  girls  in  different  poses,  and 
on  top  of  the  mill  is  a  large  rosebud,  which,  at  the 
climax,  opens  and  reveals  the  spirit  of  the  blossom. 
The  entire  ensemble  is  on  the  stage  with  strings 
of  blossoms  in  their  hands,  while  the  orchestra 
plays,  "Blossoms." 


Philadelphia  Fox 

Week  Ending  January  5 

Wide  variety  characterized  the  surrounding  bill  at 
the  Fox  this  week.  The  orchestra,  conducted  by 
William  A.  Krauth,  played  "Indian  Fantasy,"  accom- 
panied by  a  stage  presentation  with  Stella  Powers 
singing  in  Indian  garb  as  she  stood  beside  a  water- 
fall falling  into  a  canyon  against  a  picturesque 
sunset  scene  with  crimson  sky  and  violet  shadows. 

The  Sii  Lucky  Boys  were  extraordinarily  good  and 
their  difficult  and  clever  acrobatic  stunts  stirred  the 
audience  to  round  after  round  of  applause.  They 


csme  on  the  stage  with  pep  and  enthusiasm  and  ap- 
parently enjoyed  themselves  as  much  as  the  audience 
for  they  played  tricks  on  each  other  and  kept  things 
moving  at  a  rapid  rate.  Three  of  the  boys  lie  on 
their  backs  on  tables  and  the  others  are  somersaulted 
from  the  hands  and  feet  of  the  reclining  ones  into 
the  air.  One  stood  on  the  upraised  feet  of  another 
lying  while  a  third  was  somersaulted  to  his  shoulders, 
regained  his  balance  and  stood  upright.  A  difficult 
stunt  was  to  balance  on  the  upraised  feet  of  another 
lying  down,  turn  a  somersault  and  land  again  on  the 
two  feet.  In  fact  you'd  never  believe  there  was  such 
a  variety  of  somersaults  as  those  boys  turned. 

Nan  Blackstone,  accompanied  herself  on  her  little 
green  piano  in  the  manner  that  is  known  as  "blues 
singing."  She  sang  "I  Ain't  Takin'  Orders  from 
No  One"  and  "He's  Funny  That  Way"  but  her  stuff 
didn't  go  over  very  big  and  there  was  scant  applause. 

Lieutenant  Gitz-Rice  and  his  Northwest  Mounties 
in  their  brilliant  red  uniforms,  with  the  picturesque 
barracks  for  stage  setting,  well  blended  voices  and 
Petite  Marie  to  do  the  dancing  all  helped  to  make  a 
popular  number.  They  sang  a  generous  number  of 
their  characteristic  songs  ranging  from  Indian  songs 
to  the  well-remembered  "Dear  Old  Pal  of  Mine"  com- 
posed by  Lieut.  Gitz-Rice  while  in  France  during  the 
World  War.  They  sang  a  French  Canadian  60ng. 
We  didr't  know  what  it  was  all  about  but  we  liked 
the  swing  and  rhythm  of  it.  They  also  sang  "Mag- 
nolia Gal,"  with  Petite  Marie  dancing  gaily,  and  the 
applause  was  generous. 


Indianapolis  Indiana 

Week  Ending  January  12 

The  Frank  Cambria-Publix  stage  show  gives  the 
band  an  opportunity  to  read  a  "proclamation"  about 
its  inception  and  its  record  since  that  time.  They 
review  their  "travels"  that  were  made  from  week  to 
week  in  each  new  show  and  re-visit  some  of  their 
former  haunts.  They  also  provide  a  high  point  in 
the  entertainment  by  playing  a  "1929  version"  of  the 
St.  Louis  Blues. 

Jimmie  McClure,   an   11-year-old  local  youth  con- 


WANTED! 

Moving  Picture  Theatre 
Managers 

One  of  the  large  national  theatre  circuits  is 
looking  for  manpower! 

They  want  men  of  experience,  character,  abil- 
ity, initiative,  men  who  are  looking  for  a  field 
in  which  to  advance. 

They  want  the  new  type  of  showman — the  man 
who  is  moving  along  with  the  procession — live 
wires  and  yet  business  executives.  They  want 
you! 

Write  in  your  application,  stating  your  past 
experience,  your  present  position  and  salary, 
your  qualifications,  your  ideas.  Sell  yourself  in 
a  letter! 

Make  it  comprehensive — not  rambling.  Busi- 
nesslike —  not  discursive.  Showmanshiplike  — 
not  perfunctory. 

Ad  dress 

P.  A.  E.  care  Exhibitors  Herald-World 
Write  today! 


54 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


tributes  some  able  tar  dancing  to  share  honors  with 
Paul  Mall,  a  black-face  comedian.  Bud  and  Jack 
Pearson,  dancers,  Durnoff  and  Josephine,  also  dancers, 
Helen  Wright,  a  singer.  The  usual  group  dancing 
is  provided  by  the  Felicia  Sorel  Girls. 


Chicago  Granada 

Week  Ending  January  11 

The  Six  Brown  Brothers,  including,  emphatically, 
Tom.  gave  Marks  Brothers-  production  department 
the  motif  for  the  Granada  show  this  week.  The 
sax-blowing  clowns  inspired  a  show  of  jesters  and 
jazz  called  "Saxomania." 

The  curtain  rose  on  a  garden  wall,  behind  which 
a  caricaturistic  moon  and  star-lit  sky  on  a  drop 
kept  rising  while  the  ballet  leader  sang  a  special 
introductory  song,  with  the  rest  of  the  ballet,  in 
cap  and  bells,  perched  on  the  wall.  Descending  one 
by  one.  these  girls  went  through  a  routine,  at  the 
close  of  which  the  drop  and  wall  lifted  on  full  stage, 
revealing  Benny  Meroffs  band,  dressed  as  jesters, 
seated  between  steps  that  led  to  a  backstage  eleva- 
tion now  curtained  by  a  fantastic  drop  carrying  out 
the  jester  motif.  At  the  flies  and  wings  also  were 
fantastic  representations  of  the  jester  idea. 

The  usual  blare  of  brass  brought  in  Meroff,  who 
took  the  band  into  "My  Suppressed  Desire."  Not 
so  hot.  Nellie  Arnaut  and  her  three  bows  are  next 
with  fiddling  a  la  dancing  and  acrobatics,  difficult 
stuff  which  thrills  the  customers.    Two  bows. 

Adams  and  Rasch  follow,  opening  with  "So's  You. 
Old  Mandarin"  under  a  green  spot.  This  is  we  1 
received,  but  other  songs  quickly  exhaust  their  tal- 
ents and  they  give  way  to  more  important  matters 
with  a  bow.  But  before  the  important  matters  take 
place,  the  band  does  "That's  How  I  Feel  About 
You."  with  Benny  tinkering  with  a  trumpet  for  a 
chorus  but  redeeming  himself  later  with  a  stingy 
bit  of  his  superb  dancing. 

In  the  next  spot  is  where  the  ballet  demonstrates 
that,  contrary  to  the  notion  of  most  production  de- 
partments, the  ballet  may  be  useful.  The  leader,  in 
a  song,  introduces  a  number  of  Mother  Goose  charac- 
ters, each  one  being  impersonated  by  a  member  of 
the  ballet.  Meanwhile  four  chefs  have  brought  in 
a  big  pie  in  a  casserole.  The  gals  do  a  dance,  then 
the  pie  is  cut.  and  as  it  is  opened,  a  dancer  steps 
out  and  does  her  stuff,  whereupon  she  steps  back  in 
again,  to  be  carried  off  the  stage  at  the  close  of  a 
ballet  routine. 

The  headline  act  follows.  Tom  Brown  leads  out 
his  band  of  saxophone-playing  clowns  doing  an  in- 
strumental piece,  at  the  close  of  which  a  number  of 
things  happen,  all  of  them  dominated  by  Tom  in  his 
usual  black-face  and  white  pants.  His  comic  work 
with  the  aid  of  a  soprano  sax.  and  a  closing  troupe 
medley  of  popular  songs,  bring  them  out  for  more 
and  still  more.  (Playing  in  the  house  which  last 
week  had  the  inimitable  Buster  West,  Big  Time  head- 
liner  doing  his  first  presentation  act  and  how.  the 
Brown  boys  succeeded  where  many  another  must  have 
failed.) 

Obviously  a  tough  spot,  the  next  one.  but  Cliff 
Crane  takes  it  easy  with  eccentric  dancing  and  a  few 
gags  that  show  he's  high  class.  Encore  and  three 
bows. 

Then  the  back  drop  rises,  disclosing  on  the  eleva- 
tion six  hoop-drums,  through  which  break  the  Browns 
for  a  number,  while  still  another  drop  rises  reveal- 
ing the  ballet,  which  does  a  turn  beneath  jester  cut- 
outs dancing  on  strings  operated  from  the  flies  during 
the  finale. 


Audien  and  Color  Film 
Subjects  Good  for 
Organ  Novelties 

Since  the  talking  short  subjects  have  become 
an  important  part  of  many  theatre  programs 
it  has  been  noticed  that  a  great  many  of  them 
furnish  musical  accompaniment,  either  with 
an  orchestra  or  with  an  organ. 

However,  very  few  realize  the  wonderful 
possibilities  that  lie  in  the  organ  accompani- 
ment- For  example,  Kenneth  T.  Wright,  solo 
organist  at  the  Lloyd's  theatre  in  Menominee, 
Michigan,  synchronized  his  own  score  in  the 
form  of  a  solo  to  a  Tiffany-Stahl  color  sym- 
phony called  "In  a  Persian  Market."  The 
Ketelby  composition  of  the  same  name  wag 
used  throughout  as  a  theme  classic. 

The  organist  was  compelled  to  rehearse  the 
flashbacks  a  few  times  and  in  many  instances 
furnished  appropriate  and  entertaining  music 
for  the  scenic  views  that  ordinarily  an  or- 
chestra would  not  be  able  to  fill.  Especially 
so  was  the  case  in  the  scene  with  the  dancing 
girls,  who  display  their  charms  as  the  musi- 
cians in  the  film  played  musettes  and  tom- 
toms. The  organ  in  this  instance  sounded 
more  realistic,  as  there  was  no  tremolo,  and 
built  up  the  finish  in  real  good  fashion. 

Organists  should  try  stunts  of  this  sort  and 
especially  with  any  subject  like  Tiffany-Stahl 
or  Music  Masters  who  furnish  some  real  back- 
grounds  for   novel  solos. 


Honor  James  J.  Walker,  the  Mayor  of  New  York 
City.  (We  must  say  that  they  are  very  good  ones 
too.)  The  show  was  produced  by  Paul  Oscard,  and 
opened  to  a  girl  singing  "Cheerio"  to  a  grotesque 
mask  as  the  ballet  did  a  smart  routine. 

Gene  Rodemich,  then  entered  and  led  the  orchestra 
in  "Don't  Be  Like  That."  Wally  Jackson,  then  of- 
fered some  loose-jointed  comedy  dancing  that  earned 
him  an  encore.  Helen  McFarland  next  sang  a  blues 
number,  tap  danced  and  played  some  hot  tunes  on 
the  xylophone  which  were  all  well  received.  Gene 
sang,  'You're  the  Cream  in  My  Coffee"  to  Helen  as 
they  walk  off. 

Eight  black  and  eight  white  legs  api>ear  as  the 
curtain  was  raised  to  knee  height,  and  they  do  a  cute 
routine.  Helen  York,  prima  donna,  pleased  with 
an  operatic  number  that  was  well  received.  Wally 
Jackson  then  kidded  Gene  into  letting  him  lead  the 
band,  he  didn't  do  so  good  60  he  finished  with  an- 
other of  his  funny  dances. 

Dave  Rubinoff,  entered  to  a  very  fine  hand,  and 
played  his  own  composition,  "Dance  of  the  Russian 
Peasants."  Rubinoff's  violin  playing  is  always  a 
pleasure  to  hear.  He  encored  with  his  own  special 
arrangement  of  "Hallelujah"  which  received  a  very 
fine  hand.  He  was  forced  to  beg  off  for  another 
encore. 

The  finale  w-as  another  of  those  beautiful  pictures 
in  which  the  girls  danced  and  the  orchestra  and 
Helen  McFarland  played  "Cheerio."  This  was  a  fine 
show  and  received  a  fine  reception. 


Brooklyn  Paramount 

Week  Ending  January  11 

Paul  Ash's  sixth  week  show  was  "The  Perfect 
Girl"  and  as  was  reported  last  week,  featured  Helen 
MacFadden.  Ash  entered  through  the  curtain  drop 
and  explained  the  show  and  announced  an  added 
feature,  a  contest  to  find  the  most  perfect  girl  in 
Brooklyn.  This  is  under  the  auspices  of  the  Brooklyn 
Mirror,  in  which  Helen  MacFadden's  father,  the 
famous  physical  culture  expert,  is  interested.  Ash 
also  explained  that  this  was  a  dress  rehearsal  and 
that  he  would  sit  in  the  audience  to  see  it. 

The  entire  show  was  the  same  as  reported  last 
week,  with  the  exception  of  Paul  Ash  and  the  band 
numbers  which  were  as  follows:  "All  Alone  in  the 
Moonlight."  in  which  Paul  Small  sings  pleasingly,  and 
in  which  four  of  the  boys  do  a  comedy  song  and 
dance  which  was  favorably  received.  And  a  special 
comedy  song  called.  "Why  Aren't  We  Satisfied."  in 
which  Paul  Ash,  Joe  Penner  and  the  Four  Cheer- 
leaders sang,  danced  and  did  comedy  acrobatics. 

This  was  very  well  received.  All  of  the  acts 
seemed  to  click  better  at  this  house  and  to  win  more 
applause.     The  entire  show  was  bettor. 


New  York  Paramount 

Week  Ending  January  11 

Gene  Rodemich,  formerly  of  Publix  Boston  Metro- 
lK>litan  is  now  the  master  of  ceremonies  here,  and 
though  he  kept  in  the  background  the  first  week  and 
didn't  do  much,  the  audience  could  see  that  he  is  a 
good  leader  and  weren't  as  cold  to  him  as  they  have 
been  to  some  of  his  predecessors. 

This  week's  show  was  called  "Cheerio."  All  the 
special  lyrics  used  in  this  show  were  written  by  His 


Albert  F.  Brown 

Solo  Organist 

Featured  over  135  week*  in  MARKS  BROS. 
Deluxe  Chicago  Theatres.    Alternating  Between  MARBRO  and  GRANADA 


PAUL  G.  DAVIS 

Featured  Organist 

EMBASSY  THEATRE 

CHICAGO 


Omaha  Riviera 

Week  Ending  January  3 

Tears  shed  as  Fanny  Brice  sang  "My  Man"  over 
the  Vitaphone  were  dried  up  in  admiration  and  in- 
terest in  the  spectacular  stageshow  "Pow  Wow," 
which  was  Manager  Raymond  Jones'  offering  over  the 
New  Year's  season.  The  Publix  entertainment  "Pow 
Wow,"  designed  by  Paul  Oscard,  was  acclaimed  the 
most  magnificent  of  the  recent  months. 

Girls  In  Indian  attire,  stagehand  as  Redcoats,  for- 
est fires  and  thunderstorms,  all  contributed  to  a 
display  that  started  the  pulse. 

Jay  Mills,  master  of  ceremonies,  did  a  song  and  a 
clever  dance,  and  had  as  fellow  entertainers  Eddie 
and  Morton  Beck,  "window  cleaners"  in  song  and 
dance ;  Horton  Spure,  eccentric  dancer ;  Helen  Pack- 
ard, dancer,  and  Art  Dickson,  "wee  bit  o'  Scotch." 

A  novelty  during  the  week  was  16  Riviera  Girl« 
trained  to  dance  by  Jay  Mills.  Naturally  they  got 
a  big  hand. 


Salt  Lake  City  Capitol 

Week  Ending  December  22 

The  stage  attraction  here  this  week  was  billed  as 
"Up  in  the  Air  Idea"  and  was  marked  by  flashes  of 
color  in  many  hues,  swirling  dancers,  melodious 
music  and  beautiful  girls.  Walter  Nilsson  is  featured 
in  a  number  of  hazardous  and  sensational  stunts 
while  sitting  on  a  one-wheeled  cycle  many  feet  above 
the  stage  floor. 

Robert  Stickney,  an  eccentric  stilt  dancer  of  re- 
markable ability  pleases  with  his  presentation  as 
does  Doris  Whitmore,  prima  donna.  Miss  Whitmore 
sings  while  accompanying  herself  on  the  violin  and 
at  the  same  time  dancing  on  her  toes. 

Jean  Dix  and  Helen  Burke  are  two  clever  dancers 
who  have  specialty  numbers  with  which  they  were 
well  received,  and  the  Brooks  Trio  furnish  the 
laughter  and  banjo  selections. 

The  chorus  of  girls  are  all  expert  dancers  on  stilts. 
Alberti  and  his  band  in  a  specially  arranged  mu- 
sical program. 


"The  Man  Who  Put  Community 
Singing  on  the  Map" 


UNIFORMS  ZZZSZ  COSTUMES  ELSE-  BROOKS  SffiS 


Januarv  12.  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


33 


PS** 


the 


So.  Christmas  came  and.  so  has  New  Year's.  But 
both  have  left  us  again.  And  all  the  bands  on 
Broadway  made  "whoopee"  or  aaid  they  did.  But  the 
fact  still  remains  that  I'm  swamped  with  those  cheery 
greeting  cards,  and  believe  it  or  not  some  of  them 
read :  "Wish  You  Merry  Xmas."  "Happy  Easter." 
"Pleasant  New  Year,"  "Dijew  Meet  Santa?".  "Wish- 
ing You  a  Merry  Whoozis  and  a  Happy  So  and  So." 
etc..  etc. 

•  •  * 

And  then,  again,  what  New  Year  is  complete  with- 
out a  couple  of  million  resolutions.  Oh.  of  course  it 
isn't  necessary  to  keep  them !  So  I  got  a  few  of  the 
"boys"  around  town  to  give  me  their  resolutions, 
which  are  as  follows : 

•RESOLVED,  that  we  will  not  write  any  more 
shows — for  fully  two  weeks." 

DeSylva.  Brown  &  Henderson  i themselves ( . 
"RESOLVED,  that  I  will  not  play  any  more  golf 
— in  a  high  hat."  Bobby  Crawford. 

"RESOLVED,  that  I'll  keep  off  one  way  streets. 
And  I'll  cut  down  on  my  sweets. 
Then  I'll  pay  up  last  year's  notes. 
From  the  royalties  on  raccoon  coats." 

J.  Fred  Coots. 
"RESOLVED,   not   to   play   any   bum   tunes  sub- 
i  mitted  me  by  the  publishers.    I  think  I  shall  have  to 
decamp  to  Alaska  where  the  real  publishers  are." 

Rudy  Vallee. 

"RESOLVED,  that  Spier  and  Coslow  tunes  will  oc- 
cupy a  large  space  on  our  broadcast  programs  in 
the  future." 

Bert  Lown.     (With  Rudy  Valee.l 
•  RESOLVED,  that  Ager  will  stop  Yellin  at  Born- 
stein."  By  ourselves. 

"RESOLVED,  to  write  no  more  than  three  hits  a 
day."  Sam  Coslow. 

And  last,  but  not  least,  my  own  resolution: 
"  RESOLVED,    to  smile  once   in    awhile,   even  if 
it  hurts." 

•  *  • 

I  feel  we've  all  started  the  New  Year  off  right,  and 
now  for  some  news  of  the  "Alley"  : 

•  •  - 

With  the  new  wave  lengths  now  in  effect  on  the 
radio,  it  makes  it  much  easier  to  get  distance  from 
[New  York.  Therefore.  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of 
{listening  to  some  mighty  fine  out  of  town  orchestras 
(recently.  The  other  night  I  tuned  in  on  Harry 
Pomar  and  his  orchestra  of  the  Ansley  Hotel.  At- 
lanta, which  is  equal  to  almost  anything  heard  on 
the  New  York  stations.  Several  extraordinary  ar- 
rangements were  played  which  were  credited  to  Ray 
Chestnut,  banjoist  of  the  orchestra.  Here  is  a  real 
And  for  some  one  to  discover. 

•  *  » 

And  here  is  a  find  who  has  been  discovered ! 
"Sonny"  Faircloth.  a  young  chap  with  a  fine  voice 
who  was  formerly  at  Loew's  State  Theatre.  Cleve- 
land was  rromoted  to  the  Capitol  in  New  York. 
(This  is  Sonny's  third  week  here  and  from  all  evi- 
dence he  is  very  well  liked,  so  he'll  remain  here  for 
awhile,  I  guess. 

•  *  * 

The  new-  music  department  in  the  Radio-Keith- 
Orpheum  Circuit  is  now  working  in  full  swing  un- 
Her  the  guidance  of  Milton  Schwartzwald  and  Fred 
Kinsley.  Fred  was  formerly  the  feature  organist  of 
:he  New  York  Hippodrome  and  is  now  in  full  charge 
A  the  activities  of  all  the  solo  organists  on  the  en- 

■       pre   circuit.     Fred's    experience    in    presenting  his 
tiasterful   solos  at  the  Hippodrome  will  undoubted- 

'        y  prove  valuable  in  the  training  of  many  a  rising 
>rganist  throughout  the  country. 

«    *  * 

And  speaking  of  organists — Milton  Slosser  cf  the 
vlissouri  Theatre  in  St.  Louis  is  just  as  popular  as 
■ver  with  his  entertaining  solos  which  are  so  novel. 
:  is  really  a  great  treat  to  watch  and  listen  to  him. 

•  *  a 

And  still  another  Chinese  American  Restaurant  on 
5  road  way — the  "Canton  Palace."  who  boasts  of.  as 
^       'heir  main  attraction,  Ernie  Golden  and  his  music,  as 
p      |t  should  be  played.     The  name  "Ernie  Golden"  is 
-fficient  to  convey  to  you  the  quality  of  the  music. 
They  also  broadcast  over  Station  WOR.     If  you've 
»'      tot  a  good  set.  listen  in  some  night. 

•  •  • 

Just  to  inform  you  that   Waring's  Pennsylvanians 
^-      \nd  "Hello  Yourself"  the  show  they  are  featured  in 
<re  due  in  Chicago  the  14th  of  this  month,  at  the 
**        ohan  Theatre.     Better  dig  up  a  great  big  welcome 
or  them,  I  mean  those  of  you  in  Chicago! 

—LARRY  SPIER. 


Jean  Anthony  i  Chicago  Granada  I  played  a  mid- 
night solo  on  New  Year's  Eve  and  offered  a  stunt 
called  "New  Year's  Resolutions."  This  was  in  the 
form  of  community  singing  and  the  following  songs 
were  used  with  clever  gag  slides.  "Hallelujah."  "The 
Gang's  All  Here."  "Where  the  Shy  Little  Violets 
Grow,"  "Sweethearts  on  Parade."  "I  Can't  Give  You 
Arything  But  Love"  and  "Rainbow  Round  My 
Shoulder"  concluded  the  list  of  popular  selections, 
but  three  old  time  tunes  were  also  thrown  in  for 
good  measure  and  they  were  "Shade  of  the  Old  Apple 
Tree."  "Sweet  Adeline"  and  "Let  Me  Call  You  Sweet- 
heart." and  we  don't  mind  telling  you  that  the 
merry  crowd  made  plenty  of  whoopee.  Special  verses 
on  resolutions  were  flashed  on  the  screen  between 
each  chorus.  Jean  is  the  fellow  who  also  originated 
the  Vocaltone. 


WUliam  J.  Cowdrey  i  Parkersburg.  W.  Va..  Smoot  i 
played  a  solo  in  conjunction  with  the  "Singing  Fool" 
which  is  to  play  this  theatre  next  week  with  a  sunt 
called  "What  Will  the  New  Year  Bring."  which  in- 
cluded adequate  slides  on  the  two  Al  Jolson  pictures. 
After  the  introductory  slides  a  chorus  of  "Mammy" 
was  played  by  the  organist  along  with  the  Brunswick 
record  No.  3912  with  Jolson  singing.  This  was 
also  followed  by  "Sonny  Boy"  and  "There's  a  Rain- 
bow 'Round  My  Shoulder"  on  a  Brunswick  record 
No.  4033.  These  records  were  used  on  the  non- 
synchronous  section  of  the  W.  E.  equipment. 


Henry  B.  Murtagh  i  Brooklyn  Paramount)  offered 
a  community  song  fest  during  Christmas  which 
started  with  "Jingle  Bells."  He  next  played  "Roses 
of  Yesterday"  with  a  special  version  on  the  second 
chorus.  A  comedy  song  with  special  lyrics  on  "Where 
Has  My  Little  Dog  Gone"  had  them  all  singing. 
Murtagh  finished  with  "Don't  Be  Like  That."  He 
was  very  well  received. 


Jesse  Crawford  (New  York  Paramount*  offered  the 
usual  organ  concert  playing  only  two  numbers,  but 
these  numbers  were  well  played  and  one  at  least 
was  very  unusual.  They  were  "How  About  Me"  and 
"I  Faw  Down  an'  Go  Boom."  Crawford  played  this 
last  number  in  his  own  inimitable  way  and  aroused 
a  lot  of  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  the  audience, 
in  fact  so  much,  that  some  of  them  sang,  and  that 
is  quite  unusual  for  this  house. 


Eddie  Dunstedter  i  Minneapolis.  Minnesota),  the 
Minnesota's  organist,  gets  somewhat  off  the  beaten 
path  of  theatre  organ  solos  this  week  when  he  pre- 
sents the  overture  "II  Guarney"  instead  of  the  usual 
collection  of  popular  numbers.  The  presentation  is 
in  the  way  of  demonstrating  the  wide  range  of 
tonal  possibilities  and  effects  that  can  be  produced 
by  a  modern  organ.  "H  Guarney"  is  so  arranged  as 
to  permit  an  imitation  of  the  various  instruments  in 
an  orchestra — brasses,  string,  woodwinds  and  per- 
cussion. 


Les  Hoadley  .  Milwaukee.  Wis..  Wisconsin)  at  the 
organ  offers  for  his  solo  "New  Year's  Resolutions" 
with  words  flashed  upon  the  screen.  Introductory 
verses  are  played  to  the  melody  of  "Old  Lang  Syne." 
and  resolutions  are  drawn  up  for  various  groups  of 
persons.  The  married  man's  resolution  is  the  song. 
"Hail.  Hail  the  Gang's  All  Here."  the  married  wom- 
an's. "I  Can't  Give  You  Anything  But  Love."  and 
the  single  man's  song  is  "Sweethearts  on  Parade." 
The  number  was  well  done  and  most  of  the  audience 
had  joined  in  singing  before  it  was  finished. 


Arlo  Hults  i  Brooklyn  Kenmore)  featured  Donald- 
son. Douglas  and  Gumble's  latest  comedy  tune  called. 
"I  Faw  Down  an'  Go  Boom."  He  first  played. 
"Where  the  Shy  Little  Violets  Grow."  then  "My 
Treasures"  and  finished  with  "I  Faw  Down  an"  Go 
Boom."  Arlo  used  slides  to  present  his  solo  and 
though  the  audience  did  not  respond  to  the  first  two 
numbers,  they  did  sing  the  last  very  well.  Hults  is 
a  fine  orjanfet  and  knows  how  to  play  his  solos  well. 


Panrien. 
IQV  A  OtiBos 


SI?  S4 

SONGS 

BEST  SELLERS 

arts     on  Parade' 


Mi 


Weil). 

"Sonny  Boy" — (DeSylva,  Brown  & 
Henderson). 

■Til  Get  By"—(Ir-dng  Berlin). 

"There's    a    Rainbotc    'Round  My 
Shoulder" — (Irving  Berlin). 

"You're  the  Cream  in  My  Coffee" — 
(DeSvha,  Brown  &  Henderson). 

"Where  the  Shy  Little  Violets  Grove" 
— (Remick  Music  Corf.). 

"Happy  Days  and  Lonely  Xights" — 
(Ager,  Yellen  &  Bornstein). 

"Sally    of   My  Dreams" — (DeSykn. 
Brown  &  Henderson). 

"Avalon  Town" — (Sherman  Clay). 

"Me  and  the  Man  in  the  Moon" — 
(Donaldson,  Douglas  &  Gumble). 

"Jeannine,  I  Dream  of  Lilac  Time" — 
(Leo  Feist). 

That's  How  I  Feel  About  You"— 
(DeSylva.  Brown  &  Henderson). 

"Doing  the  Raccoon" — (Remick  Music 
Corp.). 

"I'm  Sorry.  Sally" — (Leo  Feist). 
"Marie" — fining  Berlin). 
"She's    Funny    That  Way" — (Villa 
Morel). 

"Love   Tale   of  Alsace  Lorraine'' — 
(Spier  &■  Coslow). 

BUTTON  IP  VOIR  OVERCOAT— ( DeSylva. 
Brown  &  Henderson! — When  these  boys  write  a 
show  tune  it's  a  standout  and  thk  looks  like  it  will 
be  another  big  hit.  By  the  way  these  hit  writers  are 
banging  them  over  one  after  another.  More  power  to 
them.  It's  good  for  the  whole  music  industry.  By 
DeSylva,  Brown  &  Henderson. 

9  .  a  ; 

GUESS  WHO?— (Leo  Feist.  Inc.)— A  cute  little  fox 
trot  with  a  very  clever  idea.  Two  new  writers  with 
this  as  a  start  will  be  heard  from.  Words  and 
music  by  Morey  Davidson  and  Sammy  Watkins. 

*  *  s 

DON'T    REMIND   ME    (I'm    Trying   to    Forget)  — 

(Donaldson.    Douglas   &   Gumble  Two   well  known 

writers  have  in  this  a  very  good  fox  trot  ballad  that 
will  no  doubt  develop  into  a  big  seller.  Both  the 
lyrics  and  melody  are  excellent.  By  Lew  Pollack  and 
Sidney  Clare. 

*  *  « 

IF    I    HAD    YOU— (Robbins    Music    Corp.)— The 

writer  who  is  pianist  for  Sophie  Tucker  wrote  this 
song  while  in  England.  It  has  been  taken  over  by 
an  American  publisher.  It  is  a  fox  trot  ballad  that 
looks  O.  K.  By  Ted  Shapiro,  Jimmy  Campbell,  and 
Reg.  Connelly. 

*  *  » 

GLAD  RAG  DOLL — (Ager.  YeUen  &  Bornstein)  — 

A  song  on  the  order  of  "Nobody's  Sweetheart." 
Looks  like  a  real  good  song.  Both  from  a  commercial 
standpoint  and  also  as  an  act  song.  Words  by  Jack 
Yellen.  music  by  Milton  Ager  and  Dan  Dougherty. 

I'D  RATHER  BE  BLUE  OVER  YOU  (Thin  Be 
Happy  With  Somebody  Else! — (Irving  Berlin.  Inc.)  — 

The  theme  song  of  the  first  Fanny  Brice  talking 
picture  entitled  My  Man.  This  picture  at  present  in 
New  York  is  creating  a  lot  of  talk.  Words  by  Billy 
Rose,  music  by  Fred  Fisher. 

*  *  * 

MY  MOTHER'S  EYES— (Leo  Feist.  Inc.)— The 
theme  song  of  the  Tiffany  feature.  Lucky  Boy.  The 
star.  George  Jesse!  is  in  town  at  the  present  time 
in  a  dramatic  show.  Lyric  by  L.  Wolfe  Gilbert, 
music  by  Abel  Baer. 

*  ■  • 

BLUE  NIGHT— (Harms.  Inc.)— A  high  class  ballad 
of  the  type  that  this  firm  has  been  quite  successful 
with  in  the  past.  Will  take  quite  some  time  to 
make  but  this  song  has  lasting  qualities  and  should 
make  money.  Lyrics  by  J.  F.  Mahoney.  music  by 
Will  Rollins. 


56 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


w 


THE  THEATRE 


Exhibitor's  Radio  Blankets  City 
With  Theme  Songs  Over  Speakers 

When  you  blanket  an  entire  town  simultaneously,  and  with  radio — that  is 
exploitation.  That  plan  was  adopted  by  Don  W.  Doobler  of  the  advertising  and 
exploitation  department  of  the  Bloomington  Theatres  organization  at  Bloom- 
ington,  111.,  to  put  over  three  synchronized  pictures  playing  consecutively  at  the 
Irvin  theatre.  The  theme  song  of  each  picture  was  played  and  reproduced  at 
the  theatre,  then  sent  out  by  private  wire  tr  dynamic  speakers  at  five  music  stores. 


One  New  Idea  Each  Week 
Is  His  1929  Resolution 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

ALBANY,  Jan.  8.— From  the  stand- 
point of  the  theatre  owner  there 
could  be  no  better  New  Year's  resolu- 
tion than  the  one  conceived  by  Her- 
man Vineberg,  owner  of  the  Arbor 
Hill  theatre  in  Albany.  Vineberg  has 
firmly  resolved  to  conceive  one  new 
idea  each  week  during  1929,  said  idea 
to  be  of  the  sort  that  will  bring  added 
patronage  to  his  residential  house. 


This  system  also  affords  the  theatre  an 
opportunity  to  tell  something  about  the  pic- 
ture. Furthermore,  as  Hoobler  writes  us, 
"the  feature  of  having  the  microphone  on 
the  set  enabling  the  theatre  to  make  an- 
nouncements also  adds  materially  to  the 
general  help,  as,  in  the  case  of  one  of  the 
films,  the  title  was  perhaps  a  bit  misleading 
and  this  impression  was  corrected  by  the 
announcement." 

How  the  Plan  Works 

The  three  pictures,  for  each  of  which  the 
theme  song  was  used,  were  "The  Awaken- 
ing," "Mother  Knows  Best"  and  "Four 
Sons."  How  he  system  works  is  explained 
by  Hoobler  as  follows: 

Briefly,  this  idea  is  an  electrical  amplifi- 
cation of  the  Victor  record,  obtained  by 
means  of  Victor  electrola  electric  "pickup" 
or  similar  device  run  through  a  radio  set 
for  its  amplification.  The  record  is  played 
and  the  sound  amplified  and  run  to  power 
dynamic  speakers  located  in  various  parts 
of  the  city. 

The  record  and  reproducing  mechanism 
is  located  at  the  theatre,  and  the  sound 
transmitted  to  the  cooperating  music  stores 
(in  this  case  there  were  five  stores,  in  scat- 
tered locations  about  the  business  section 
of  the  town).  The  sound  is  transmitted  by 
means  of  a  private  wire  leased  from  the  lo- 
cal telephone  company  (the  same  as  a 
temporary  installation  of  a  private  tele- 
phone). The  telephone  company  must  take 
all  voltage  off  the  wire,  however. 

Throw  Sound  Into  Street 

The  reproducing  apparatus,  located  at  the 
theatre,  plays  the  theme  songs  and  they 
are  carried  to  the  stores,  to  the  large  power 
dynamic  speakers,  located  above  the  en- 
trance doors  and  throwing  the  sound  into 
the  street.  These  loudspeakers  are  450  volt 
amplified  speakers,  and  are  clearly  and 
easily  audible  for  a  distance  of  one  block  in 
each  direction  from  the  speaker. 

Then,  after  the  theme  song  (on  the  rec- 
ord) has  been  played,  a  switch  cuts  off  this 
electrical  pickup  and  cuts  in  a  standard 
broadcasting  studio  microphone  and  the 
theatre  man  may  make  the  desired  sales 
talk  or  announcements  pertaining  to  the 
song,  that  it  is  the  theme  of  such  and  such 
picture,  coming  to  the  Irvin  theatre  (dates) 
also  including  a  mention  that  the  music 
may  be  had  at  (name  of  music  store  co- 
operating). 

Two  Pictures  Exploited  at  Once 

Two  pictures  playing  somewhat  near  the 
same  dates  may  be  exploited  simultaneous- 
ly if  desired.  A  brief  explanation  of  the  na- 
ture of  the  synchronization  of  the  picture 
is  also  made,  which  gives  patrons  a  clear 


impression  in  advance  of  what  they  may  ex- 
pect to  hear  when  they  see  the  picture. 

In  this  instance,  the  plan  outlined  above 
was  used  one  week  in  advance  of  the  pic- 
ture and  during  showing  also. 


Take  Hicks9  Name 
Off  Exchange  List? 
Doggone  If  We  Do! 

Verner  Hicks  suggests  that  we  take  his 
name  off  the  House  Organ  Exchange  list, 
but  we  aren't  so  sure  that  we  will.  And  at 
that  he  says  "I  am  always  glad  to  get 
them."  But  here's  the  story  and  I  rather 
think  you'll  prefer  to  keep  him  on  your 
mailing  list  after  reading  his  letter. 

Under  the  letterhead  of  the  Phil  H. 
Heyde  Theatres — the  Arcadia  and  Elks  at 
Olney,  111.,  Hicks  writes: 

"I  think  I  should  advise  you  that  I  am 
not  connected  with  a  theatre,  and  my  name 
should  be  taken  off  the  house  organ  ex- 
change list;  in  fact  I  should  have  notified 
you  some  time  ago,  but  have  been  on  the 
road  until  recently. 

"I  am  now  idle  and  looking  for  another 
connection  as  manager  and  should  I  locate 
I  shall  be  glad  to  again  be  on  the  exchange 
list.  When  I  severed  my  connections  with 
the  local  theatres  I  notified  those  whom  I 
was  exchanging  with,  but  recently  I  have 
been  receiving  some  programs  from  others, 
who  no  doubt  are  wondering  why  they  have 
not  heard  from  me,  and  this  will  enlighten 
them.  However,  I  am  always  glad  to  get 
their  organs,  and  note  some  of  them  are 
improving  since  they  first  started  mailing 
to  me  (some  of  those  I  first  exchanged 
with  continue  to  send  theirs,  which  I  am 
very  glad  to  have). 

So  you  see  it  look-:  as  if  Hxks  will  be 
back  with  us  before  i  n  sir,  Hicks, 

we  won't  take  your  name  off  the  Exchange. 


Publishes  Endorsement 

Of  Y.  W.  C.  A.  for  Picture 

Manager  W.  P.  McGeachie  of  the  Al- 
goma  theatre,  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Ontario, 
pulled  off  a  fine  stroke  of  business  when 
he  published  the  signed  endo-  ,ement  of  lo- 
cal Y.  W.  C.  A.  officials  f<  "The  Port  of 
Missing  Girls."  The  state  .nent  was  signed 
by  Mrs.  J.  A.  McKel'  ,  president,  and 
Florence   Campbell,  gi   s   work  secretary. 


E.  E.  Bair  Puts  Over 
Newspaper  Section 
On  Theatre  Opening 

Our  compliments  go  forth  herewith  to  E. 
E.  Bair,  resident  manager  of  the  State  and 
American  theatres  at  East  Liverpool,  Ohio, 
operated  by  the  American  Amusement 
Company. 

A  special  newspaper  section  launched  the 
new  State  theatre  there  with  a  real  bang — 
not  a  blowup  bang  but  a  regular  ring-the- 
bell  bang — that  not  only  shows  that  Bair  is 
muchly  on  the  job  as  usual,  but  also  fore- 
tells a  good  administration  for  the  theatres 
with  plenty  of  community  good  will. 

Bair  writes  to  "The  Theatre"  that  "your 
publication  will  no  doubt  recall  the  writer 
as  former  editor  of  the  Falk  Theatre  News, 
published  in  connection  with  the  Falk  thea- 
tre, Cuyahoga  Falls,  Ohio,  just  a  few 
months  back.  Trusting  you  will  like  the 
section  being  mailed  to  you." 

We  will  and  we  do! 

Weskil  and  Fagg 
Will  See  Results  of 
This  Goodwill  Move 

"Just  completed  one  of  the  biggest  char- 
ity matinees  that  I  have  ever  seen  put  on," 
writes  Lester  M.  Fagg  projectionist  and 
publicity  man,  to  this  department  from  the 
Panida  theatre  at  Sandpoint,  Idaho.  "We 
packed  them  in  and  had  them  standing  up. 

"Put  the  matinee  on  Dec.  23d  and  the 
admission  to  the  show  was  anything  that 
the  public  cared  to  bring:  A  spud,  or  a  full 
sack,  an  apple,  clothing,  canned  goods,  veg- 
etables, or  they  could  bring  cash — a  penny 
on  up.  The  whole  proceeds  of  the  matinee 
went  to  local  charity,  and  there  was  some 
proceeds!  A  good  sized  truckload  of  cloth- 
ing and  foodstuffs  and  also  about  $30.00  in 
cash." 

"Mr.  F.  C.  Weskil  (head  of  Amusement 
Enterprises)  furnished  the  entire  program 
without  cost.  The  show  was  put  on  in  the 
Panida  theatre". 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS    H  EFALD-WORLD 


57 


And  hotc  those  youngsters  did  enjoy  gathering  about  Mae  Murray  tchen  she  appeared  at  the 
Rochester  theatre,  at  Rochester,  iV.  Y.  The  success  of  Thomas  D.  Soriero  in  putting  over 
the  shott  in  the  face  of  Christmas  shopping  and  the  opening  of  a  new  theatre  U  told  in  the 

accompanying  story. 


Christmas  and  Opening  of  Rival 
Theatre — but  He  Wins  Through! 

"  Twos  the  wee\  before  Christmas,  and  All  Through  the  House 

j^lot  a  creature  u,as  stirring  " 

No,  attendance  wasn't  that  bad.  but  another  exhibitor  than  Thomas  D.  Soriero. 
manager  of  the  Rochester  theatre  at  Rochester.  N.  Y.,  might  have  had  visions  of 
something  approaching  that.  It  was  not  only  a  question  of  Christmas  shopping, 
but  there  was  the  fact  that  the  new  Keith-Albee  Palace  theatre  was  to  open  on 
Christmas  Day.    What  to  do? 


Gift  Candy  and 
Tickets  Help  This 
Chain  at  Christmas 

Several  ideas  to  store  away — in  writing 
—in  your  file  for  next  Christmas  are  these 
hat  were  put  into  practice  by  Sidney  Lust, 
•resident  of  Super  Film  Attractions,  with 

chain  of  theatres  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
nd  Charlestown,  W.  Va.  In  fact,  the  ideas 
an  be  of  serv  ice — particularly  two  of  them — ■ 
t  other  times  besides  Christmas. 
All  four  houses  in  Washington  gave  half 
ound  boxes  of  candy  to  the  children,  each 

special  Christmas  box  with  a  sticker 
eading,  "Compliments  of  Sidney  Lust 
lieatres."  This  brought  good  space  in  the 
ewspapers. 

Then  there  was  a  deal  with  the  Golden- 
erg  Department  Store. 

"In  return  for  the  tickets  that  I  gave 
iem,"  Lust  writes,  "they  advertised  this 
ery  extensively  in  their  ads  as  follows: 

"Goldenberg's  Department  Store  have 
urchased  from  Sidney  Lust  and  A.  Licht- 
lan  (operator  of  a  chain  of  Negro  theatres) 
ve  thousand  (5,000)  tickets  to  be  given 
way  in  the  boys  department  to  any  child 
ccompanied  by  his  parent  or  parents.  No 
urchase  is  necessary." 

A  third  instance  of  effective  management 

the  cooperative  ad  used  in  the  Washing- 
>n  Times.   Of  this  Lust  writes: 

"By  grouping  our  ads  together,  especially 
le  smaller  theatres,  we  get  a  special  rate 
"om  the  newspaper  which  of  course  in- 

rests  the  small  theatre  owner." 


theatre  Assists 
Paper  and  Civic 
Body  in  Contests 

A_  splendid  tieup  with  the  Tribune- 
apital  and  the  Junior  Chamber  of  Com- 
erce  brought  plenty  of  patronage  to  the 
apitol  theatre  all  last  week. 
The  Junior  C.  of  C.  put  on  a  '  Know  Des 
oines  Products"  campaign  in  which  it 
aged  two  contests.  One  was  for  the  best 
iginal  song  boosting  home  products  and 
e  other  was  to  find  the  beautiful  young 
oman  who  would  be  "Miss  Des  Moines 
roducts." 

The  theatre  gave  time  each  night  in  the 
eek  for  the  appearance  of  a  group  of  girls 
presenting  certain  products.  One  was 
losen  each  night  as  a  winner.  On  the 
st  night  the  final  winner  was  picked. 
Jay  Mills,  master  of  ceremonies,  and 
cques  Blumberg,  pit  orchestra  leader, 
dged  the  songs.  The  winner  was  sung 
ch  night  by  Mills. 


*read  Wrappers 

Tell  of  this  Film 

Every  loaf  of  bread  delivered  by  the 
Dttage  Bakery  of  Springfield,  Ohio,  car- 
ed_  a  wrapper  sticker  copy  on  Marion 
avies's  production,  "The  Cardboard 
over,"  in  a  tieup  of  Manager  Willard 
sborne  of  the  State  theatre  there.  This 
ea  had  started  with  "The  Cossacks." 
In  addition  to  the  usual  advance  pub- 
:ity,  the  theatre  used  a  large  cut-out  fig- 
e  of  a  man  in  the  foyer.  This  was  ar- 
nged  to  have  the  arm  move  from  the 
cture  of  Marion  Davies  to  a  card  giving 
le  and  date. 

On  this  production  there  was  mailed  to 
large  mailing  list  a  card  with  institutional 

py- 


Soriero  knew  what  to  do,  because  he 
had  been  figuring  on  just  such  an  eventual- 
ity for  several  months.  In  the  first  place, 
he  booked  the  alluring  Mae  Murray  to  ap- 
pear at  the  theatre.  And  the  result?  The 
Keith-Albee  threw  open  its  doors  on 
Christmas  Day,  and  did  a  good  business, 
too.  Did  the  Rochester  play  to  empty 
seats?  Why,  there  wasn"t  room  for  all  the 
throng.  All  week  Soriero  played  four  en- 
tire showings  a  day  and  there  was  a  capac- 
ity crowd  at  each. 

Given  Great  Reception 

Miss  Murray  was  accorded  one  of  the 
greatest  receptions  any  star  ever  received 
in  Rochester.  At  the  train,  the  station  was 
packed.  Her  special  car,  with  footman  and 
chauffeur,  took  her  to  the  hotel,  where 
again  the  crowds  received  her.  On  leaving 
the  theatre  or  on  arrival,  the  sidewalks 
were  lined  with  onlookers,  and  inside  was 
capacity  business. 

The  newspapers  in  Rochester,  too,  recog- 
nized the  situation.  Special  double  page 
advertisements  rapidly  were  subscribed  to 
by  the  meichants,  an  unheard  of  thing  at 
Christmas  tin«°.  These  tieups  continued  all 
during  Miss  Murray's  stay  in  Rochester. 
Newspaper  Stories  Every  Day 

Besides,  every  cay,  photographs  and 
news  stories  appeared  in  all  the  papers. 
Special  feature  stories  about  Miss  Murray 
were  played  up,  as,  for  example,  how  on 
Christmas  day  she  made  a  special  visit  to 
the  Children's  Home  and  provided  Christ- 


mas cheer  for  the  youngsters. 

Soriero's  foresight  netted  the  theatre  a 
ten  thousand  dollar  increase  in  receipts 
over  last  year.  Soriero  says  it's  the  show 
that  counts,  and  it  doesn't  make  any  dif- 
ference whether  there  is  a  new  theatre 
opening,  whether  it  is  Christmas  Week  or 
whatnot — provided  the  show  is  good — and 
the  exploitation. 

Fortune  Teller  and  Bear 

Help  to  Put  Over  "Revenge" 

A  fortune  teller  and  a  trained  bear  cub 
added  a  realistic  touch  to  Dolores  del  Rio's 
latest  picture,  "Revenge,"  a  recent  attrac- 
tion at  the  State  theatre,  Minneapolis. 

The  fortune  teller  was  on  duty  from  1  p.  m. 
until  10  p.  m.  and  did  a  rushing  business. 
The  crowds  were  so  great  that  each  session 
had  to  be  limited  to  three  minutes. 

The  black  bear  cub  was  led  about  the  city 
several  times  a  day,  much  to  be  amusement  of 
most  of  the  children  of  Minneapolis.  In  be- 
tween strolls,  the  cub  was  caged  in  front  of 
the  theatre.  Needless  to  say,  many  mothers 
brought  their  youngsters  downtown  to  see 
the  bear  and  then  went  in  to  the  show. 


Huge  Sign  Added 

The  Circle  theatre  at  Portland.  Ore.,  will 
augment  its  famous  spinning  globe  of  light 
with  another  huge  additional  sign  having 
radial  rays  of  seven  feet  beyond  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  present  ball. 


58 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


Carnival  Engaged  for  "Barker" 

A  complete  carnival  was  engaged  by  W .  C.  Watson,  manager  of  the 
Hippodrome  at  Cleveland,  to  put  over  First  National's  "The 
Barker,"  and  the  result  was  a  tremendous  ballyhoo.  The  entire 
inner  foyer  ivas  canvas  on  both  sides,  and  during  intermissions  a 
real  sideshow  was  put  on,  including  fire-eater,  sword-swallower  and 
girl-in-the-box  attractions.  Pete  Mardo  and  four  other  clowns 
made  appearances.  Fifty  thousand  colored  heralds  in  the  form  of 
carnival  handbills  were  distributed. 


The  main  entrance  lobby.    Lease  barred  decorations. 


The  inner  foyer,  looking  toward  the  main  entrance. 


Wegener  and  Fagg 
Plan  House  Organs; 
Give  Them  a  Hand! 

Add  to 

House  Organ  Exchange: 
L.  J.  Wegener 
Rialto  Theatre 
Fort  Dodge,  Iowa 
* 

Lester  M.  Fagg 
Panida  Theatre 
Sandpoint,  Idalu> 

Folks,  here  are  two  more  chances  to  show 
the  real  value  of  the  House  Organ  Ex- 
change. 

L.  J.  Wegener,  resident  manager  of  the 
Rialto  at  Fort  Dodge,  Iowa,  comes  to  bat 
with  the  following: 

"We  are  planning  to  start  publishing  a 
house  organ,  and  I  am  wondering  if  you 
could  send  some  samples  from  other  houses. 
Any  help  or  suggestions  that  you  can  make 
will  be  appreciated." 

There's  only  one  answer  to  that  letter: 
Every  member  of  the  Exchange  sits  down 
this  minute  and  addresses  the  last  two  or 
three  issues  of  his  theatre  house  organ  to 
Wegener.  That's  what  Wegener  wants, 
and  the  least  we  all  can  do  is  to  send  him 
house  organ  copies. 

As  soon  as  we  saw  the  letter  we  pulled 
out  a  pile  of  house  organs  and,  dealing  off 
the  top  (and  members  of  the  House  Organ 
Exchange  always  deal  off  the  top),  have 
rushed  him  copies  of  fifteen  exchanges. 

And  Lester  M.  Fagg  writes  from  the 
Panida  theatre  at  Sandpoint,  Idaho: 

"Would  like  to  place  myself  and  this 
theatre  on  the  House  Organ  Exchange  list. 
Have  not  as  yet  developed  a  house  organ, 
and  would  like  to  get  a  few  from  the  dif- 
ferent theatres  in  this  exchange  before  do- 
ing so." 

As  soon  as  they  get  started,  Wegener 
and  Fagg  will  exchange  with  all  of  you. 
So  help  them  now  when  they  need  it  most. 


Faces  of  Nations 

Put  Over  Picture 

The  Savoy  theatre,  Superior,  Wis.,  pulled 
a  good  exploitation  idea  on  "We  Ameri- 
cans" when  that  picture  played  in  the  city. 
A  co-operative  page  of  advertising  was 
obtained  from  a  number  of  merchants.  In 
these  advertisements  was  printed  an  illus- 
tration of  a  face  representing  a  certain 
nation. 

The  readers  of  the  paper  were  asked  to 
try  to  figure  out  what  nation  each  face 
represented.  It  was  a  unique  contest  and 
created  much  attention.  Everyone  sending 
in  the  right  answers  received  theatre  tickets. 
The  Evening  Telegram,  Superior,  also  co- 
operated in  putting  the  contest  over. 

Star  Identifying 

Goes  Over  Strong 

Miss  H.  Marie  Alexander  was  the  winner 
of  the  Buick  sedan  in  the  P.  I. -West  Coast 
Theatres  Film  Star  Identification  Contest. 
Her  name  was  on  top  of  the  140  award 
winners  in  the  40-star  competition.  More 
than  15,500  answers,  competing  for  more 
than  $7,000  in  prizes  made  it  the  most  suc- 
cessful contest  ever  held  here.  There  were 
1,918  correct  answers  turned  in  and  Mis* 
Alexander  won  on  "neatness  and  legibility 
according  to  the  three  judges. 


r 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


59 


w 


SERVICE  TALKS 


Incorporated  in  this  department  of  Exhibitors  Herald,  which  is  a  department  containing  news,  in- 
formation and  gossip  on  current  productions,  is  the  Moving  Picture  World  department,  "Through 

the  Box  Office  Window" 


"FOUR  SO.\S" 

[  AM  sure  that  an  interesting  story  lurks  be- 
lind  the  repeatedly  demonstrated  fact  that  the 
•ox  company  can  make  better  mother  pictures 
han  any  or  all  of  the  others.    It  might  be  dis- 
overed  by  an  investigator  into  this  phenomenon 
hat  there  are  more  mothers  in  the  executive 
jmily  of  this  concern,  or  on  the  other  hand,  by 
reverse  process  of  logic,  that  there  are  more 
lotherless  executives.    Without  becoming  at  all 
ersonal,  I  hazard  the  guess  that  John  Ford,  at 
Jast.  either  has  an  extremely  human  and  lov- 
ble  mother  or  that,  by  the  other  method  of 
eduction,  he  has  been  deprived  of  her  under 
ircumstances  which  would  be  extremely  inter- 
sting  if  they  were  any  of  our  business.  Cer- 
linly  his  "Four  Sons"  is  the  best  mother  pic- 
Jre  since  "Over  the  Hill,"  which  was  the  best 
lother  picture  of  all  time. 
"Four  Sons"  is  a  German-American  war  story, 
lost  of  it  has  to  do  with  the  German  side  of 
le  encounter.   The  American  side  is  dealt  with 
dturally.  necessarily,  and  without  undue  war- 
ig  of  flags  or  marching  of  troops.   The  mother 
a  German  mother,  three  of  whose  sons  enter 
le  German  army,  the  fourth  coming  to  Amer- 
a  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  and  enlist- 
lg,  eventually,  on  this  side  of  the  argument. 
<~hat  happens  to  the  boys  it  is  the  business  of 
ie  picture,  not  of  my  typewriter,  to  tell  you. 
earnestly  advise  that  you  see  the  picture,  from 
ie  first  if  possible,  and  learn  the  story  first- 
and.    It  will  be  good  for  you. 
The  players  in  '"Four  Sons"  are  too  numerous 
id  too  evenly  matched  for  me  to  name  and 
"edit  them  separately.    If  you  care  to  know 
ho  does  good  work  in  the  picture,  look  up  the 
ist  and  select  any  or  all  of  the  names.  You 
ill  not  be  wrong.    There  are  no  also-rans,  no 
emendously  outstanding  triumphs,  but  there 
e  a  great  many  equally  able  performances  by 
great  many  people.    And  there  is  a  great  deal 
good  direction,  good  setting,  even  the  cap- 
>ns  are  good — and  this  latter  I  think  can  be 
id  of  very  few  pictures  in  this  day  of  wise- 
acking  slapstick  by  the  gentlemen  who  write 
btitles. 

I  am  among  those  who  do  not  like  to  see 
other  pictures,  for  the  excellent  reason  that 
ey  do  things  to  me.  I  do  not  particularly  like 
weep,  though  I  feel  after  doing  so  as  any 
her  normal  individual  feels,  and  so  I  seek  to 
oid  the  experience.  Perhaps  this  is  only  the 
ore  reason  why  I  regard  "Four  Sons"  so 
ghly,  this  and  the  fact  that  it  presents  the 
tie  matter  of  war  much  as  that  little  matter 


By  T.  O.  Service 

presented  itself  to  me  on  the  occasion  of  its 
last  appearance  in  these  parts.  That  is  to  say, 
not  very  attractively,  but  very,  very  accurately. 

"COXQUESr' 

\.  HEARD  from  a  quite  reliable  source,  a  good 
long  while  before  Monte  Blue  began  work  in 
the  production  of  "Conquest,"  that  Mr.  Blue 
was  not  particularly  glad  of  the  assignment.  Not, 
it  was  pointed  out,  that  he  lacked  vocal  equip- 
ment for  the  job  or  that  he  wished  to  continue 
in  the  expansive  silences  to  which  he  had  been 
accustomed.  Rather  because  he  thought  little 
good  could  come  of  making  the  picture,  the 
story  being  what  it  was  to  be  and  all  that.  I 
have  not  heard  what  Mr.  Blue  has  to  say  of  the 
picture,  now  that  it  is  completed  and  in  exhibi- 
tion, but  I  believe  I  could  guess.  I  hasten  to 
assure  him,  however,  that  he  need  have  little 
fear  of  being  blamed  for  what  has  happened. 
He  has  shown  that  he  can  speak  up  when 
occasion  demands  and  he  loses,  in  the  articulate, 
none  of  the  charm  that  was  and  still  is  his  in 
pantomime.  Messrs.  Tully  Marshall,  H.  B. 
Warner  and  others  in  the  cast  likewise.  Blame 
for  what  has  happened  goes  further  back,  back, 
in  fact,  to  the  inevitable  rush  and  stampede  of 
production  which  is  an  outgrowth  of  market 
conditions  with  which  we  all  are  familiar. 

The  trouble  with  "Conquest"  is,  I  think,  that 
nobody  took  the  trouble  to  write  lines  for  it. 
Maybe  I  am  wrong,  maybe  somebody  really  did 
write  the  lines  that  are  used,  but  if  that  is  the 
case  the  error  merely  becomes  personal. 

The  picture,  aside  from  the  quite  inadequate 
wording  of  it,  is  quite  interesting.  It  is  timely, 
too,  for  Commander  Byrd  is  somewhere  South 
in  search  of  the  pole  over  which  Messrs.  Blue 
and  Warner  fly  with  relative  ease  in  "Conquest." 
Told  with  the  legerdemain  of  the  silent  cinema 
working  in  its  behalf,  bolstering  wobbly  logic 
and  making  the  impossible  seem  probable,  it 
might  conceivably  be  highly  entertaining  and 
interesting  fiction. 

I  should  list  the  picture  among  the  experi- 
ments which  had  to  be  made.  We  will  be  for- 
tunate indeed  if  there  are  not  many  worse  ones 
before  the  technique  of  the  audien  is  perfected. 
In  view  of  the  greatness  of  the  aim,  the  magni- 
tude of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  ultimately, 
let  us  pass  gently  this,  and  such  other  transient 
imperfections  as  may  be  encountered. 


MACK  SES\ETT,  HIMSELF 

c 

V_^OLNT  among  the  triumphs  of  the  audien 
its  success  in  bringing  the  one,  only  and  en- 
tirely too  exclusive  Mack  Sennett  back  from  the 
shadows  to  the  plain,  white  glare  of  the  screen. 
This  funniest  of  all  funny  men,  who  doesn't 
appear  in  the  picture  but  is  all  around  and 
about  it  by  reason  of  having  WTitten  and  di- 
rected it,  has  a  comedy  in  distribution  which 
all  good  motion  picture  people  should  see  if 
they  see  nothing  else  this  year.  It  is  called 
""The  Lion's  Roar." 

I  could  write  more  words  than  you'd  read 
about  the  genius  named  Sennett.  I  would  begin 
by  recalling  the  best  of  all  his  jokes,  when  he 
employed  Raymond  Hitchcock  to  star  in  "My 
\  alet"  and  then,  finding  the  stage  comedian  to 
be  funny  as  a  funeral  in  film,  enacted  the  valet 
himself  and  made  the  funniest  of  all  Mack  Sen- 
nett comedies  and  put  the  first  Triangle  pro- 
gram over  with  a  clatter  and  bang.  I  would 
finish  by  complaining  that  Mack  ain't  done  right 
by  our  little  art-industry  in  turning  over  the 
megaphone  to  a  lot  of  good  boys  who  simply 
aren't  Mack  Sennett.  But  I'll  save  all  those 
words  and  ease  up  to  the  news  that  in  this,  his 
first  audien  comedy,  you  have  the  Sennett 
humor  in  story  and  direction,  and  in  a  gentle 
kidding  of  the  audien  itself,  which  interferes  in 
no  way  with  a  handsome  demonstration  of  just 
what  the  apparatus  of  audibility  can  do. 

Mr.  Sennett  puts  the  reproducing  mechanism 
through  its  paces  by  making  it  reproduce  prac- 
tically all  the  noises  you  can  think  of  in  a  given 
space  of  time,  including  the  human  voice.  But 
he  has  done  this  by  rigging  up  a  comic  yarn, 
in  which  the  noises  occur,  that  is  just  about 
twice  as  funny  as  anything  any  of  his  directors 
has  turned  out  since  he  laid  aside  his  personal 
megaphone.  The  comedy  would  be  a  riot  with- 
out the  audibility  stuff.  With  it,  it  is  a  riot 
plus  a  panic  plus  pandemonium.  (Try  that  on 
your  reproducers,  men.) 

I  am  told  that  this  comedy  signalizes  Mr. 
Sennett's  affiliation  with  Educational.  This  may 
account  for  the  putting  forth  of  the  personal 
effort,  or  again  it  may  not.  I  prefer  to  think 
that  the  grand  old  man  of  the  slapstick  has  been 
re-interested  in  picture  by  advent  of  the  audien 
and  has  set  out  to  show  the  younger  generation 
of  Hollywoodsmen  just  how  little  they  know 
about  making  comedies  and  a  few  of  the  tricks 
they'll  have  to  learn  if  they  want  to  keep  in  the 
procession.  I  wag  my  old  grey  head  happily 
and  chuckle.    Attaboy,  Mack,  give  'em  'ell. 


< 


60 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


NEW  PICTURES 


In  "New  Pictures"  the  EXHIBITORS 
HERALD-WORLD  presents  in  concise 
form  information  on  current  and  forth- 
coming attractions. 

The  facts  as  presented  will  serve  exhib- 
itors in  booking  and  in  the  preparation  of 
their  advertising  campaign. 

AIR  LEGION,  THE:  FBO  drama,  from  a  story  by 
James  Ashmore  Creelman,  with  Ben  Lyon,  Antonio 
Moreno,    Martha   Sleeper,   John   Gough   and  Colin 

Chase.    Directed  by  Bert  Glennon.  Released   

Length   

TYPE  AND  THEME:  Airplane  thrills.  Steve 
Rogers,  air  mail  pilot,  has  a  reputation  of  never 
being  late.  On  his  landing  one  day,  he  finds  a 
letter  from  the  widow  Grayson  asking  Steve  to  get 
her  son,  Dave,  into  the  air  maU  service.  Although 
Steve  is  in  love  with  Sally,  she  does  not  seem  will- 
ing to  marry  him.  When  Dave  Grayson  ar- 
rives at  the  air  field  and  makes  advances  to  Sally, 
she  accepts  them.  Dave  gets  his  chance  to  become  a 
pilot,  and  he  and  Steve  are  sent  out  in  a  storm 
with  the  mail.  Dave  loses  his  nerve  and  jumps  out 
of  the  plane.  Steve  recovers  all  the  lost  mail  and 
tries  to  hide  Dave's  cowardice.  Dave  is  looked  upon 
as  a  coward,  but  through  Steve's  efforts,  he  is  given 
another  chance.  In  another  trip  Dave  again  turns 
coward,  but  Steve  urges  him  to  go  on.  Steve  is 
hurt  and  Dave  helps  him  to  land  with  only  a  slight 
injury.  Sally  is  waiting  and  she  falls  into  Dave's 
arms.    Steve  gives  them  his  best  vjishes. 

*     *  * 

BURNING  THE  WIND:  Universal  Western,  from  a 
story  by  William  MacLeod,  with  Hoot  Gibson,  Vir- 
sinia  Brown  Faire,  Cesare  Gravina.  Robert  Homans, 
Georges  Grandee,  Boris  Karloff  and  Peewee  Holmes. 
Directed  by  Henry  MacRae  and  Herbert  Blache. 
Released      Length  5.202. 

TYPE  AND  THEME:  Richard  Gordon,  Sr.,  and 
Ramon  Valdes,  once  neighboring  land  oivners,  regret 
that  the  romance  and  adventures  of  their  own  lives 
have  net  visited  their  children.  Dick  Gordon,  Jr., 
is  reported  to  be  leading  a  wild  life  in  the  East, 
and  Gordon,  Sr.  and  Valdes  plan  a  way  to  get  Dick 
to  return  to  the  farm.  Gordon  writes  his  son  that 
the  Valdeses  are  unlawfully  taking  auay  his  land. 
Dick  returns  home,  and  on  the  way  to  the  house  he 
falls  and  hurts  his  foot.  Maria,  daughter  of  Valdes, 
not  knowing  who  Dick  is,  takes  him  to  her  home 
and  doctors  the  injured  foot.  The  two  fall  in  love 
with  each  other,  but  when  Maria  finds  out  who  Dick 
is,  and  knows  he  has  led  a  wild  life,  asks  him  to 
leave.  They  are  unhappy  without  each  other,  so 
Manuel,  brother  of  Maria,  plans  to  unite  them  again. 
He  tells  Pug  Dorgan  to  kidnap  Maria  in  the  hope 
of  bringing  Dick  and  her  together.  Dorgan  does  so, 
but  keeps  her  for  himself.  Diek  is  also  captured  by 
one  of  Dorgan's  gang  but  escapes  and  rescues  Maria. 
Gordon,  Sr.  and  Ramon  Valdes  arrive  in  time  to 
see  the  children  in  each  other's  arms. 


GATE  CRASHER,  THE:  Universal  comedy,  from  a 
story  by  Jack  Foley,  with  Glenn  Tryon,  Patsy  Ruth 
Miller,  T.  Roy  Barnes,  Beth  Harol,  Fred  Malatesta, 
Tiny  Sandford.  Claude  Payton,  Russell  Powell  and 
Al  Smith.  Directed  by  William  James  Craft.  Re- 
leased December  9.    Length  5,597. 


Rosie  and  Terry  meet  at  the  beach — a 
scene   from    First   National's,  "Naughty 
Baby,''  showing  Alice  White,  the  star,  and 
Jack  Mulhall.  male  lead. 


TYPE  AND  THEME:  Dick,  a  nervy  detective, 
meets  Mara,  a  stage  star,  as  she  is  returning  to 
New  York.  He  falls  madly  in  love  with  her  and 
saves  her  jewelry  from  being  stolen  from  her  maid 
and  press  agent.  When  Mara's  jewelry  is  actually 
stolen,  Dick  follows  her  to  New  York  in  hope  of 
recovering  it.  The  opening  night  of  Mara's  show 
Dick  crashes  the  gate  and  accidentally  steps  on  the 
stage,  causing  an  uproar  in  the  crowd.  He  hears 
the  maid  and  press  agent  plotting  against  Mara 
and  warns  her  of  it.  ■  At  a  night  club  Dick  steals 
the  money  and  jewelry  so  as  to  save  it  from  the 
crooks,  and  he  is  chased  into  the  basement  of  the 
night  club  and  caught.  Mara  calls  the  police,  and 
Dick  is  saved,  whereupon  Mara  promises  Dick  she 
will  marry  him. 

*     *  * 

OBJECT  ALIMONY:  Columbia  drama,  from  a  story 
by  Elmer  Harris,  with  Lois  Wilson,  Ethel  Grey 
Terry,  Douglas  Gilmore,  Roscoe  Karns,  Carmelita 
Geraghty.  Dickey  Moore,  Jane  Keckley  and  Thomas 
Curran.     Directed  by  Scott  R.   Dunlap.  Released 

   Length   

TYPE  AND  THEME:  Carrie  Rutledge,  a  widow 
and  the  owner  of  a  store,  CJits  the  wages  of  the 
employes  in  order  to  carry  on  with  the  young  men 
that  go  with  her  son.  Among  her  employes  is  Ruth, 
who  is  having  a  hard  time  trying  to  get  along.  At 
a  party  Ruth  meets  Mrs.  Rutledge's  son,  Jimmy,  and 
falling  in  love,  they  get  married.  Mrs.  Rutledge, 
not  believing  that  Ruth  has  married  Jimmy  for  love, 
accuses  her  of  having  only  a  desire  to  get  alimony. 


Jimmy  overhears  this  and  takes  Ruth  away.  After 
six  months  of  peace,  Jimmy  and  Ruth  are  invited  to 
Mrs.  Rutledge's  home.  There  Ruth  meets  Graham, 
who  is  trying  to  poison  Jimmy  against  Ruth.  Next 
day  Graham  visits  Jimmy's  home  and  forces  his 
love  on  Ruth.  Jimmy  arrives  home,  and  when  he 
sees  Ruth  in  Graham's  arms,  he  leaves,  believing 
what  his  mother  has  said.  Ruth  leaves  and  takes 
a  room,  where  a  boy  is  born  to  her.  A  roomer  in 
the  saine  boarding  house  hears  Ruth's  story  and 
writes  a  book  from  it  which  becomes  a  big  success. 
A  play  from  the  story  goes  on  the  stage,  and  at 
the  opening  night  Jimmy  and  his  mother  attend 
the  shoiv.  Ruth  steps  on  the  stage  and  Jimmii  rec- 
ognizes her.  Later  in  the  park,  Jimmy  meets  hit 
son,  who  brings  Ruth  and  him  together  again. 

*  •  « 

WHAT  A  NIGHT:  Paramount  comedy-drama,  with 
Bebe  Daniels,  Neil  Hamilton,  William  Austin, 
Wheeler  Oakman,  Charles  Sellon,  Hill  Mailes  and 
Ernie  Adams.  Directed  by  Edward  Sutherland. 
Released    Length  5.378. 

TYPE  AND  THEME:  A  story  of  the  press— and 
Bebe  Daniels.  For  five  years  Editor  Madison  has 
been  waiting  to  get  a  chance  to  get  a  story  about  a 
political  boss,  Paterson,  and  a  gang  leader,  Corney. 
Madison  gets  a  canceled  check  that  gives  him  enough 
proof  to  allow  publishing  the  story.  Then  Corney 
steals  the  check.  Joe,  son  of  the  editor,  starts 
after  Corney.  In  the  chase,  Joe  sees  a  beautifvl 
girl  and  helps  rescue  her.  He  returns  to  the  office 
admitting  defeat.  The  next  day  Dorothy,  the  girl 
whom  Joe  saved,  joins  the  newspaper  staff  as  a 
reporter.  One  of  the  Cornell  gang  is  put  in  jail, 
and  Dorothy  goes  to  the  jail  for  a  story.  She  finds 
cut  where  the  stolen  check  is  hidden  and  tells  Joe. 
Corney  hears  this  and  plans  a  trap  for  Joe.  Jos 
finds  the  check  and  telephones  his  father  to  go 
ahead  and  print  the  story.  Corney  covers  Joe  with 
a  gun  and  takes  the  check  away  from  him.  Madi- 
son is  sued  for  not  having  proof  of  the  story. 
Dorothy  gets  the  check  after  many  narrow  escapes 
and  gives  it  to  Madison.    Yes,  she  and  Joe  embrace. 

*  •  • 

TROPIC  MADNESS:  FBO  drama,  with  Lestriw 
Joy,  Lena  Malena,  George  Barraud,  Henry  Sedley, 
Albert  Valentino  and  David  Durand.  Directed  by 
Robert     Vignola.       Released   Length 


TYPE  AND  THEME:  South  Sea  Island  story. 
Driven  into  bankruptcy  by  his  wife's  neglect  and 
extravagance,  Herbert  Pomeroy  secretly  sends  their 
small  son  to  his  friend  Henderson  on  a  Scuth  Sea 
island  and  then  commits  suicide.  After  six  years  of 
searching,  Juanita  begins  to  fail  under  the  strain. 
She  is  invited  and  consents  to  accompany  Julet 
Lennox  on  his  ship  on  a  cruise  around  the  world. 
The  boat  is  wrecked,  and  the  party  lands  on  thi 
island  where  Henderson  and  the  boy  is  living. 
Juanita  recognizes  the  boy  when  his  old  nurse  is 
with  him.  The  nurse  dies  and  reveals  the  secrets  oj 
Juanita  to  Johnson,  a  derelict  doctor.  Johnsor 
threatens  to  reveal  Juanita's  past  to  Hendersor. 
unless  she  gives  herself  to  him.  Koki,  native  oj 
the  island,  jealous  of  Juanita,  plans  to  do  away  will 
her.  A  volcanic  eruption  occurs.  Henderson  save; 
Juanita  from  both  the  natives  and  the  overflowini 
lava.  He  begs  her  forgiveness,  and  they  are  married 


This  Week's 

TRAIL  OF  '98  (M  G  M  drama) :  Go  after  your  schools  on 
an  educational  basis,  offering  to  give  awards  to  children  for 
the  best  recitations  of  any  of  the  Robert  W.  Services  poems. 
Arrange  with  the  school  teachers  for  this  tie-up. 

Announce  that  several  songs  will  be  played  over  the  radio 
and  that  the  people  identifying  the  songs  will  be  invited  to 
your  theatre  as  guests. 

Thousands  of  inexpensive  bookmarks  may  bring  their  share 
of  patronage  when  distributed  in  conjunction  with  tie-ups  with 
the  popular-priced  photoplay  edition,  and  with  special  library 
displays  of  books  by  Robert  W.  Service.  Prepare  these  book- 
marks from  the  press  book  material  and  see  that  you  get  ample 
distribution. 

Many  of  the  products  used  in  the  days  of  '98  are  now  na- 


Press  Sheet 

tional  household  words.  They  appear  frequently  in  the  pic- 
ture and  present  unlimited  opportunities  for  special  window 
displays  and  cooperative  newspaper  advertising.  Stills  for  these 
tie-ups  can  be  obtained  from  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.  Order 
stills  by  number:  Maxwell  House  Coffee,  Nos.  276-440;  Car- 
nation Milk,  Nos.  276-29,  276-1  and  276-11;  Sperry  Flour,  Nos. 
276-1  and  276-27;  Snyder's  Catsup,  Nos.  276-368;  Royal  Baking 
Powder,  Nos.  276-31;  Baker's  Cocoa,  Nos.  276-237. 

Varied  selling  points  can  be  incorporated  in  these  coopera- 
tive propositions.  For  instance,  "Since  the  days  of  '98,  Max- 
well House  Coffee  has  been  'good  to  the  last  drop'  " — "Just  as 
Baker's  cocoa  was  a  favorite  in  the  gold  seekers'  days,  so  you 
will  find  it  a  favorite." — "We  sold  Royal  Baking  Powder  in  '98 
just  as  we  do  today." 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


65 


CLASSIFIED 
Advertising 

Ten  cents  per  word,  payable  in  advance.  Minimum  charge, 
$1.00.  Copy  and  checks  should  be  addressed  Classified  Ad  Dept. 
Exhibitors  Herald- World,  407  So.  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

The    Recognized    National    Classified    Advertising  Medium 


Managers'  Schools 


LEARN  MODERN  THEATRE  MANAGEMENT. 
A  training  that  is  helping  many  theatre  employees  to 
;  success.  Catalog  H.,  Moving  Picture  Theatre  Man- 
agers' Institute,  Elmira,  N.  Y. 


Position  Wanted 


ORGANIST — Experts  thoroughly  trained  in  show 
manship  available  at  all  times  for  first-class  positions 
Men  and  women.  No  service  charge  Write  full  in- 
formation concerning  salary,  organ,  hours,  etc.  Ad 
dress    Vermond    Knauss    School    of    Theatre  Organ 

,  PUying.  210  N    7th  St..  Allentown.  Pa.  

FEMALE  ORGANIST  is  looking  for  a  position, 
will  be  free  January  1st.  Am  well  recommended, 
reason  for  leaving  due  to  Vitaphone.  Can  play  on 
all  makes.  Single,  will  go  anywhere,  can  cue  pictures 
correctly  and  accurately.  Will  start  for  reasonable 
,  salary  in  order  to  prove  worth.  Address  Box  289, 
'Exhibitors  Herald-World,  407  S.   Dearborn  St.,  Chi- 

irago.  111.  

'  ORGAN 1ST  FIFTEEN  YEARS  EXPERIENCE — 
First-class  Chicago  Organist.  (Male.)  Reason  for 
■  leaving  due  to  Vitaphone.  Expert  Synchronization 
•of  music  to  the  picture.  Novelty  and  straight  solo 
work.  Large  library.  Union,  married,  will  go  any- 
Iwhere.  Best  of  references.  Salary  can  be  satisfac- 
torily arranged.    Address  Box  338,  Exhibitors  Herald 

.World.  407  S.  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago,  111.  

i  AT  LIBERTY — House  Manager,  fifteen  years'  ex- 
perience. Gcod  Sign  Writer  and  Lobby  Man.  Go  any- 
jwhere.  Nine  years  last  job.  Best  of  reference. 
(Address  W.  D.  Fletcher,  110  West  Seventh  Ave., 
Williamson,  W.  Va. 

Equipment  for  Sale 

FOR    SALE— 320    18"    veneer   chairs  $1.50—270 
veneer  chairs  18"  $1.40 — 370  18"  veneer  chairs  $1.30 
—250  21"  veneer  chairs  $1.45—475   veneer  20"  like 
new  $1.90  all  castings  perfect  and  veneer  in  fine  con- 
dition.   2  Motiograph  Model  1002-E  motor  drive  ma- 
chines complete  with  lens,  fine  condition,  $550.00  for 
1      pair.  2  Simplex  motor  drive  Type  S  lamphotises  and 
>     [Peerless  arc  controls  with  lens,  $650.00  for  both.  1 
0     IPowers  6B  motor  drive  with  lens,  wonderful  condi- 
p     Ition.    $250.00.    The   Theatre    Seating    Company,  845 

,    [S    State  St.,  Chicago,  111.  

a     I    12(10— Upholstered  Theatre  Chairs. 
'    1000— Veneer  Theatre  Chairs. 

500 — Upholstered  Chairs  with  spring  seats,  panel 
back. 

,    Also   all    makes    REI1UILT    projectors,  spotlights, 
, reflector  lamps,   screens.    Everything  for  the  theatre 
■•      at  bargain  prices.    Address  AMUSEMENT  SUPPLY 
'     jCO..  INC..  729  Seventh  Avenue,  New  York  City 

.  I  ll  EATRE  EQUIPMENT,  new  and  used.  Opera 
e  jchairs,  projectors,  screens,  generators,  rectifiers,  re 
i:      fleeting  arc  lamps,  etc.     Write  for  bargain  list  and 

'catalogue.  Address  Movie  Supply  Co.,  844  Wabash, 
r  'Chicago 

i*  POWERS  AND  SIMPLEX  PARTS.  20%  and  30% 
discount.  Two  Powers  6  B  with  Peerless  lamps.  Will 
sell  separately.  Bargains.  Address  Carol  Fenyvessy, 
«2  St   Paul  St..  Rochester.  N.  Y. 


FUR  SALE — Reflector  Arc  Lamps  and  accessories, 
also  guaranteed  rebuilt  Powers  6-A  and  6-B  and  Sim- 
plex Heads.  Best  Prices.  Write  Joseph  Spratler, 
12-14  E.  Ninth  St..  Chicago.  Ill 


f  I  CHICAGO  CLEARING  HOUSE— Our  bargain  list 
ion  rebuilt  Projectors,  Powers  6-A  Motor  driven  ma- 
chines,   including    12    rebuilt    Simplex   motor  driven 

9    [machines  with  latest  Simplex  type  S   lamp  houses 


Prices  ranging  from  $175.00  and  up.  Peerless  arc 
controls  $35.00  per  pair.  Compensarcs  all  makes, 
$20.00  and  up.  Rebuilt  Generators  at  reasonable 
prices.  AC  and  DC  Electric  fans  rebuilt,  just  like 
new.  Write  for  complete  list  of  your  needs  and 
prices.  No  obligation.  Address  Illinois  Theatre 
Equipment  Co..  12-14  E.  Ninth  St..  Chicago.  Ill 

POWERS  AND  SIMPLEX  PARTs  at  2U  per 
cent  and  30  per  cent  reduction.  Reflector  arc  lamps 
cheap.  Address  Carol  Fenyvessy.  62  St.  Paul  St., 
Rochester.  N  Y. 

EQUIPMENT  PRICED  FOR  IMMEDIATE  SALE : 
1 — ILG   48-INCH    FAN,    PRACTICALLY  NEW. 

200  VOLTS,  60  CYCLES. 

150   PLAIN    THEATRE   SEATS.     USED  LESS 

THAN  SIX  MONTHS. 

1—  75  AMP.  HERTNER  TRANSVERTER. 

2—  SIMPLEX  MACHINES  IN  PERFECT  CON- 
DITION. 

1— AUTO  TRANSFORMER  STARTER.  THREE- 
PHASE,  220- VOLT.  29  AM  PS.,  t>  CYCLES. 

ADDRESS  ASSOCIATED  THEATRE  OWNERS 
OF  INDIANA,  INC.,  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE 
BUILDING,  INDIANAPOLIS,  INDIANA. 


Chairs  for  Sale 


1000 — of  the  very  finest  brand  new  veneer  chairs 
manufactured  by  Heywood- Wakefield.  Way  below 
cost.  Shipment  in  forty-eight  hours  Write  today  for 
exact  photo  and  full  details.  C.  G.  Demel,  845  South 
State,  Chicago,  III. 

BIG  BARGAIN  in  used  Opera  chairs,  6UI)  uphol- 
stered, 800  Veneer.  Address  Movie  Supply  Co., 
844  Wabash  Ave.,  Chicago.  Ill  

Jusi  received  4.UUU  highest  grade  bpnng  constructed 
upholstered  Theatre  Chairs,  less  than  2  years  old,  at 
very  reasonable  prices.  Also  several  other  lots  of  up- 
bolstered  and  veneered  Theatre  Chairs,  as  well  as  500 
Portable  Assembly  Chairs.  Write  for  complete  list 
and  description  of  all  equipment.  You  are  under  no 
obligation.  Illinois  Theatre  Equipment  Co.,  12-14  E. 
Ninth   St..   Chicago.  Ill 


Stationery 


"NEARGRAVURE"  —  "Neargravuremboso"  (no- 
plate  embossing)  processes.  Special  500  814x11"  let- 
ter heads.  250  envelopes  Neargravure  $4.44  cash,  post 
paid     Samples.  Address  Sollidays,  XH124,  Knox,  Ind. 


For  Sale 


OPERA  CHAIRS,  seats  and  backs  for  all  makes, 
five  ply,  at  prices  that  save  you  half.  New  and  used 
Opera  chairs.  Address  J.  P.  Redington  &  Co.,  Scran- 
ton.  Pa.  

REFERENCE  BOOKS— Motion  Picture  Trade  Di- 
rector,  $10;  Anatomy  of  Motion  Picture  Ait,  $2.50. 
rMlms  of  the  Year,  $2.50;  Close  Up,  annual  subscrip- 
tion $3.50.  These  books  may  be  ordered  through  us. 
Send  check  or  money  order  with  your  request.  Ad- 
dress Exhibitors  Herald-World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St., 
Clucaco.  Ill 


Theatre  for  Sale 


APOLLO  THEATRE,  Princeton,  III.,  county  seat, 
5000  population.  Lease  runs  seven  years,  875  6eats, 
low  rent,  newly  decorated,  new  screens,  new  stage 
and  window  drapes,  best  equipment,  own  everything 
in  theatre,  showing  best  first  run  pictures.  Priced  to 
sell.  It  will  make  you  money.  Selling  on  account  of 
health.     Address  Miles  S.  Fox.  Owner.  

THREE  SMALL  HOUSES  on  circuit  priced  for 
quick  sale.  Good  reason  for  selling.  Address  Box 
344,  Exhibitors  Herald- World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St., 
Chicago. 


THEATRE,  northern  Indiana,  population  fifteen 
hundred;  six  hundred  seats,  newly  equipped,  doing 
business  worth  the  investment.  Address  Box  345, 
Exhibitors  Herald- World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St., 
Chicago. 

Theatre  Wanted 

AT  ONCE.  ANY  TOWN  OVER  2000  POPULA- 
TION.  PREFER  LEASE.  WILL  CONSIDER  BUY- 
ING. 10  YEARS— SUCCESSFUL  MANAGEMENT. 
ADDRESS  BOX  339,  EXHIBITORS  HERALD- 
WORLD,  407  S.  DEARBORN  ST.,  CHICAGO. 

Theatre  for  Lease 

NEWLY  REMODELED  second  run  theatre,  fully 
equipped,  excellent  contracts,  reasonable  rent.  Grow- 
ing western  town  with  big  future.  Address  Box  341, 
Exhibitors  Herald-World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St., 
Chicago,  111. 


Organs  for  Sale 


FOR  SALE:  Rartola  Pipe  Organ.  Used  Wurlitzer 
Pipe  Organ,  model  U,  very  reasonable.  Cremona 
ripe  Organ,  used  or  new.  Reproduco  Pipe  Organs. 
Address  S.  B.  McFadden,  Havana,  111. 

Gift  Night  Souvenirs 

GIFT  NIGHT  MERCHANDISE:  Over  300  fine 
novelties  in  our  large  free  catalog  at  genuine  whole- 
sale prices.  Write  today.  No  obligation.  Address 
Fair  Trading  Co.,  Inc.,  140  W.  21st.  St.,  New  York. 

Projector  Repairing 

BEST  SHOP  for  repairing  projection  machines. 
Prompt  service,  reasonable  prices.  Address  Movie 
Supply  Co.,  844  Wabash,  Chicago.  

SKILLED  MECHANICS,  specialized  tools,  and  a 
shop  equipped  for  but  one  purpose  can  offer  you 
nothing  but  the  best  in  repair  work.  That  is  what  I 
h-ive.  and  I  can  offer  you  the  best  in  the  overhauling 
of  your  motion  picture  machinery  equipment.  One 
of  the  oldest  repair  men  in  the  territory,  and  serving 
some  of  the  largest  houses.  Relief  equipment  fur- 
nished free.  For  results  bring  your  work  to  Joseph 
Spratler.  12-14  E.  Ninth  St..  Chicago,  111. 


Miscellaneous 


WANTED — Worn  out  films,  scrap  and  surplus 
stocks  in  any  quantity.  We  supply  steel  drums  ap- 
proved by  fire  departments  everywhere.  Address 
Master-Craft  Products  Co.,  4535  Fifth  Avenue,  Chi- 
cago.  111.  

WANTED;  Talking  Pictures,  with  records  for 
road  show.  Address  Walter  J.  Tenny,  Box  515,  Sacra- 
mento, Calif. 

Equipment  Wanted  

WANTED — 2  Peerless  or  Powers  Projectors,  also 
Strong  reflector  arc  lamps.  State  price,  condition 
and  number  of  machines.  Will  pay  cash,  or  one- 
third  down  and  balance  C.O.D.  Address  Box  337, 
Exhibitors  Herald-World,  407  S.  Dearborn  St.,  Chi- 
cago.  111.  

HIGHEST  PRICES  paid  for  used  opera  chairs, 
projection  machines,  etc  Address  Movie  Supply  Co., 
844  Wahash.  Chicago 

WANT  SEVERAL  MERCURY  RECTIFIERS, 
good,  bad  or  incomplete,  cheap.  Address  Preddey, 
188  Golden  Gate  Ave.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 


Your  Classified  Ad  Will  Do  the  Work 

Exhibitors  Herald- World  has  helped  hundreds  of  Theatre  owners  in  solving  many  a  problem.  The  classified  advertising 
department  has  placed  organists  all  c-.  ~  the  country,  has  helped  in  obtaining  equipment,  in  selling  equipment,  and  in 
solving  many  another  problem  that  seetiK  1  difficult.  The  rates  are  but  10c  per  word  payable  with  order,  10%  discount 
if  run  for  3  insertions.  See  this  week's  class*  nages.  Maybe  you  are  in  need  of  something  that  is  being  advertised  this 
week.    The  cost  is  small,  the  results  are  great. 


/ 


66 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


120  Blind  People  Hear 
Paramount's  "Interference" 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  Jan.  8.— The 
seeming  miracle  of  moving  pictures 
for  the  blind  became  a  reality  last 
week  when  one  hundred  and  twenty 
blind  persons  attended  a  special  per- 
formance of  the  audien  picture 
"Interference"  at  the  California  the- 
atre. The  plot  of  the  story  was  out- 
lined to  the  guests  from  the  Blind- 
craft  Institution  before  the  perform- 
ance started,  and  the  listeners  had  no 
difficulty  in  following  the  story,  the 
voices  of  the  characters  serving  to 
fix  them  in  the  minds  of  the  audience. 


LETTERS 
From  Readers 

A  forum  at  which  the  exhibitor  is 
invited  to  express  his  opinion  on 
matters  of  current  interest.  Brevity 
adds  forcefulness  to  any  statement. 
Unsigned  letters  will  not  be  printed. 


"Keep  Working" 

AMHERSTBURG,  ONTARIO,  CANADA 
— To  the  Editor:  We  were  very  interested 
in  a  letter  from  Walter  S.  Odom,  Sr.,  of  the 
Dixie  theatre,  Durant  Miss,  appearing  in  the 
latest  issue  of  the  Herald- World.  Mr.  Odom 
complains  of  the  small  towns  being  so  hard 
hit  by  the  "audiens"  in  nearby  cities.  He 
asks  a  panacea  and  cites  his  competition,  a 
city  40  to  SO  miles  away  to  which  his  people 
go  in  droves. 

Here  is  our  competition:  We  are  situated 
in  a  Canadian  town  of  3,000  with  a  house  of 
500  seats  only  18  miles  from  Detroit,  Mich. 
Detroit  has  some  of  the  finest  theatres  in  the 
world  (sound  in  all  the  downtown  first  run), 
the  newest  films,  the  greatest  stageshows,  not 
to  mention  legitimate  houses.  Detroit  thea- 
tres also  advertise  in  papers  on  this  side  and 
all  the  Detroit  papers,  daily  and  Sunday  circu- 
late here.  It  is  possible  to  be  in  downtown 
Detroit  in  45  minutes.  There  is  a  paved  high- 
way and  hourly  street  car  service  to  Windsor 
(a  city  of  75,000  directly  across  from  Detroit, 
which  has  five  theatres  playing  pictures  and 
vaudeville).  From  Windsor  to  Detroit  there 
is  a  five  minute  ferry  ride  and  practically  no 
trouble  crossing  the  border.  Worst  of  all, 
shows  run  on  Sunday  in  Detroit,  a  privilege 
which  we  are  not  allowed. 

Naturally  we  feel  this  competition  for 
"small  town  entertainment"  can  never  com- 
pete with  "big  city  entertainment"  but  the 
"audiens"  have  not  affected  us  to  any  appre- 
ciable extent.  On  the  other  hand  some  patrons 
have  said:  "Yes,  we  saw  it  in  talkies,  but 
we  want  to  see  the  difference  when  it's 
silent."    There's  a  new  angle. 

In  spite  of  all,  our  business  shows  no  de- 
crease, and  while  there  is  no  real  solution  to 
the  problem,  until  sound  gets  cheaper  we 
guide  ourselves  by  the  following:  Give  the 
best  show  you  can  afford;  get  the  best  and 
newest  films;  cash  in  on  all  the  big  town 
publicity  you  can  by  getting  your  pictures 
quick;  make  the  best  of  what  you  have  to 
offer  and  let  people  know  you  are  alive ;  keep 
working. — Tyas  Brothers,  Liberty  theatre, 
Amherstburg,  Ontario,  Canada. 


The  "Little  Fellows" 

BREFSTER,  O.— To  the  Editor:  Here- 
with my  check  for  one  year's"  subscription. 
It's  a  dandy  paper.  I  love  to  read  it,  but 
what  a  sad  and  distressed  feeling  I  get  when 
I  read  about  these  theatres  located  in  the 
large  towns  and  cities  doing  capacity  busi- 
ness with  this  and  that  picture,  especially  in 
"sound." 

How  about  us  little  fellows?  I  don't  mean 
towns  of  10,000  and  larger.  I  mean  us  little 
fellows  in  towns  of  1,000  and  on  up  to  5,000. 
We  are  the  real  little  fellows.  We  are  the 
ones  who  will  have  to  be  content  with  silent 
pictures  while  our  people  are  flocking  to  the 
nearby  towns  to  "see  and  hear"  pictures  in 
deluxe  houses. 

Why  not  a  department  in  your  paper  for  us 
little  fellows.  We  have  problems,  more  so 
today  than  ever  before.  I'll  contribute  my 
share  towards  such  a  department.  How  about 
it? 

Let's  get  the  little  fellows  together.  We 
need  help  and  if  we  all  contribute  to  a  "little 
fellows"  department  in  your  paper,  we  can  get 
some  help,  but  remember  just  us  little  fellows, 
independents,  us  $7.50  and  $10  accounts  who 
are  forced  to  wait  30  and  60  days  on  our 
producer-exhibitor  opposition  in  nearby  towns. 


"Help  us  lest  we  perish"  and  that's  no  "bull." 
— W.  J.  Van  Ryzin,  Brewster  theatre,  Brew- 
ster, O. 


Four  Netoco  Theatres 
Near  Completion;  Chain 
Almost  50  in  One  Year 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
BOSTON,  Jan.  8. — Four  houses,  each 
seating  2,500,  are  nearing  completion  as 
additions  to  the  expanding  Netoco  chain, 
while  locations  for  still  more  theatres  are 
under  consideration,  according  to  Samuel 
Pinanski,  president  of  the  New  England 
Theatres  Operating  Company. 

Just  a  year  ago,  this  company  was  in- 
corporated with  an  authorized  capital  of 
$25,000,000,  and  Samuel  Pinanski  was 
elected  president.  The  circuit  then  em- 
braced 12  theatres.  Today  there  are  nearly 
50.  Sixteen  years  ago  Pinanski  broke  into 
the  picture  business  and  worked  his  way 
through  every  phase  of  theatre  operation 
until  he  rose  to  be  manager  of  one  small 
house,  the  Modern  in  this  city. 

The  four  new  houses  are  the  State, 
housed  in  a  $1,000,000  office  building  in 
Portland;  the  Seville  in  East  Boston,  the 
Egyptian  in  Brighton,  patterned  after  the 
Temple  of  Karnak  at  Thebes;  and  the 
Community  in  North  Attleboro,  of  Colonial 
design.  All  these  theatres  are  to  be 
equipped  with  sound  apparatus. 

Reeltone  Welds  First 

Links  in  Sales  Chain 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Reeltone  is  busy 
with  a  world-wide  sales  campaign  and  has 
already  completed  arrangements  with  the 
Reeltone  Corporation  of  the  Southeast  to 
represent  it  in  North  Caroline,  South  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia;  with  F.  T.  Welter  for 
Wisconsin;  Richard  C.  Houghton  for  New 
England;  and  with  Maurice  Sebastian  for 
the  West  Coast.  Other  territorial  distribu- 
tion contracts  are  pending  and  will  shortly 
be  announced,  it  is  stated. 

Four  Square  Distributing  Corporation  has 
obtained  the  franchise  for  Connecticut, 
Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Oklahoma  and  Ar- 
kansas; and  Harry  Webb,  for  Virginia  and 
Maryland. 

Even  Circus  Folk  Go  in 
For  "Sound"  at  Meeting 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

KANSAS  CITY,  Jan.  8.— The  blare  of 
calliopes  and  carnival  horns  were  potent 
"sound  effects"  at  the  Coates  House  here 
last  week,  when  the  annual  convention  of 
the  Heart  of  America  Showmen's  Associa- 
tion was  held.  About  50  motion  picture 
exhibitors  are  members. 

Several  thousand  persons  visited  the  ex- 
hibits during  the  convention,  which  closed 
yesterday.  Everything  in  the  sideshow  and 
circus  line  was  exhibited,  including  novel- 
ties for  magicians  and  actors.  A  dinner 
and  dance  closed  the  convention.  The  as- 
sociation has  about  500  members. 

E.  R.  Medd  Leaves  Publix 
To  Manage  Independent 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

LUMBERTON,  N.  C,  Jan.  8.— E.  R. 
Medd,  who  has  been  manager  of  the  Publix- 
Saenger  theatres  in  Clarksdale,  Miss.,  has 
accepted  the  appointment  of  general  man- 
ager of  the  Carolina  theatre  here,  operated, 
by  the  Lumberton  Theatre  Corporation. 

Medd  has  been  connected  with  thr  ea- 
tre  business  for  18  years.  He  v '  with 
Carolina  Theatres,  Inc.,  befo-  ,  joining 
Publix  last  spring.  He  has  ought  Oliver 
Thornton,  organist,  with  Km  from  Publix. 


Italy  Government  Gives 
Its  Support  to  League 
Educational  Film  Society 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NAPLES,  Dec.  30.— [By  Mail]— In  the 
presence  of  the  king  and  of  the  prime 
minister  and  of  several  other  authorities, 
the  International  Institute  of  Educational 
Cinematography,  which  is  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  League  of  Nations,  was  inaugu- 
rated at  Frascati  in  the  villa  Falconieri, 
the  former  summer  residence  of  the  Popes. 

Ex-Minister  Bisi,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  the  Italian  government  presi- 
dent of  the  Ente  Nazionale  per  la  Cinema- 
tografia,  went  a  few  days  ago  to  Berlin,  where 
he  concluded  the  agreement  planned  with 
UFA.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  this 
"Ente  Nazionale  per  la  Cinematografia"  has 
been  sought  by  Mussolini  for  a  general  re- 
vival of  cinematographic  production  in  Italy. 

UFA  has  a  very  large  capital,  being 
supported  by  important  banks,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  agreement  with  UFA  of  Berlin, 
the  president  is  to  make  agreements  with 
other  countries  interested  in  cinemato- 
graphic production. 

Columbia  Signs  Ben  Lyon; 
Dorothy  Revier  Returns 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— Ben  Lyon  has 
been  signed  by  Columbia  to  appear  in  their 
Silent  and  Sound  pictures.  This  is  Lyon's 
first  contract  with  an  independent  com- 
pany. 

Dorothy  Revier  has  returned  to  the  Col- 
umbia studios  after  an  absence  of  several 
months.  Julanne  Johnston,  Martha  Frank- 
lin and  Julia  Swayne  Gordon  were  also 
signed  to  play  in  Columbia's  products. 

Fox  Takes  Movietone  of 
Ohio  Governor's  Address 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
COLUMBUS,  Jan.  8.— A  movietone  reel 
of  Governor-Elect  Myers  Y.  Cooper,  who 
will  be  inaugurated  Governor  of  Ohio 
January  14,  was  taken  by  Fox  in  Columbus. 
This  reel,  which  will  be  about  six  minutes 
in  length,  will  contain  a  portion  of 
Cooper's  inaugural  address. 

"Marriagu  by  Contract" 
Booked  by  Fox  Circuit 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  8.— "Marriage  By 
Contract,"  Tiffany-Stahl  picture,  featuring 
Patsy  Ruth  Miller,  has  been  booked  by  the 
William  Fox  Circuit  to  play  in  their  New 
York  and  Brooklyn  theatres  starting 
February  14. 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


67 


w 


WHAT  THE  PICTURE  DID  FOR  ME 

Verdicts  on  Films  in  Language  of  Exhibitor 


Columbia 

THE  APACHE:  Don  Alvarado— 90%.  December 
6-8.  A  thrilling  story  of  the  French  underworld. 
Pleased.  Seven  reels. — S.  A.  Hayman,  Lyda  theatre. 
Grand  Island.  Neb. 

DAWN:  Sybil  Thorndike— November  29-December 
1.  Very  good.  Mies  Thorndike  is  splendid.  The 
only  thing  against  it  is  that  it'6  just  a  bit  too  heavy 
and  lacks  the  comedy  touch.  Our  business  on 
"Dawn"  was  next  to  that  of  "Ben  Hur"  and  "Sev- 
enth Heaven,"  in  tpite  of  an  eleven-inch  snowfall 
on  the  first  night  of  the  play  dates.  Picture  had 
just  been  released  and  print  was  first  class.  Eight 
reek. — Frank  Johnson,  Opera  House,  Louisville,  Neb. 
— Small  town  patronage. 

RAMSON:  Lois  Wilson — Very  ordinary.  Six  reels 
of  film.  However,  it  is  a  lot  better  than  cheap  West- 
erns. The  latter  are  simply  passe.  I  can't  get  a  cor- 
poral's guard  on  them,  so  do  not  show  them  any 
more. — L.  E.  Palmer,  Postville  theatre,  Postville,  la. 
— General  patronage. 

RANSOM :  Lois  Wilson— 21%.  December  2S.  A 
good  little  picture,  but  did  not  draw  well.  due.  we 
believe,  to  general  sickness  and  cold.  Six  reels. — 
Mrs.  Hulda  J.  Green,  Gem  theatre,  Greenriver,  Utah. 
— General  patronage. 

THE  SCARLET  LADY:  Lya  DePutti— 58%. 
December  18-19.  Very  good  picture  of  its  kind  and  a 
fair  drawing  card  at  the  box  office.  Print  and  photog- 
raphy excellent.  Seven  reels. — P.  G.  Held.  Strand 
theatre,   Griawold,   la. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

COURT  MARTIAL:  Jack  Holt— 100%.  September 
30-October  S.  Very  good.  Will  please.  Seven  reels. 
— S.  A.  Hayman,  Lyda  theatre,  Grand  Island,  Neb. 
— General  patronage. 

SALLY  IN  OUR  ALLEY:  Good.— Julius  W. 
Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  HI. — General  patron- 
age. 

HIS  WIFE'S  RELATIONS:  Shirley  Mason- 
November  28.  A  very  good  picture,  not  on  ac- 
count of  Miss  Mason  or  Gaston  Glass,  but  mostly 
on  account  of  the  lesser  luminaries  in  the  pic- 
ture, particularly  Ben  Turpin.  Ben  is  a  riot  and 
together  with  the  hero's  chums,  keeps  the  audi- 
ence in  what  we  always  like  to  hear,  roars  of 
laughter.  Personally,  I  thought  the  explosion 
inconsistent,  but  perhaps  they  do  use  explosives 
in  making  automobile  paint.  Six  reels. — Frank 
Johnson,  Opera  House,  Louisville,  Neb. — Small 
town  patronage. 

ALIAS  THE  LONE  WOLF:  Special  cast— Very 
good. — Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese.  111. 
— General  patronage. 

RUNAWAY  GIRLS:  Shirley  Mason— If  you  don't 
take  time  to  analyze  the  weak  spots  in  this  one,  it 
will  rate  as  a  fair  program  offering.  But  the  plot  is 
weak  in  spots,  and  I'd  only  call  it  just  another  pic- 
ture. Six  reels. — P.  G.  Vaughan,  Sun  theatre,  Kansas 
City,  Mo. — General  patronage. 

THE  WAY  OF  THE  STRONG:  Special  cast— Fair 
entertainment.  Better  than  cheap  Westerns  at  the 
box  office,  but  nothing  to  rave  over,  at  that.  Just  a 
fairly  good  picture. — L.  E.  Palmer,  Postville  theatre, 
Postville.  Ia. — General  patronage. 

AFTER  THE  STORM:  Special  cast— Fair  pic- 
ture, with  the  same  old  toy  storm  at  sea  and 
shipwreck.  This  shipwreck  and  First  National's 
tram  wreck  in  the  "Crash"  sure  are  the  berries. 
The  public  isn't  quite  so  dumb  that  they  don't  see 
these  defects. — L.  E.  Palmer,  Postville  theatre, 
Postville,  Ia. — General  patronage. 

SUBMARINE:  Jack  Holt— 100%.  December  25-29. 
A  mighty  drama  of  the  sea.  Pleased  everyone  T»ho 
saw  it.  Some  came  to  see  it  a  6econd  time.  Nidi 
reels. — S.  A.  Hayman,  Lyda  theatre.  Grand  Island. 
Neb. — General  patronage. 

THE  TIGRESS:  Not  so  good.— Julius  W.  Schmidt. 
Grand  Iheatre.  Breese.  III. — General  patronage. 


Copyright,  1929 


THE  FIRST  VOTES 

'THE  first  votes  in  the  "My  Favorite 
Players"  contest  are  in,  and  they  place 
Lon  Chancy  in  the  lead  of  the  male  play- 
ers, and  Joan  Crawford  and  Louise 
Lovely,  who  are  tied,  at  the  head  of  the 
list  of  feminine  players.  Miss  Lovely,  by 
the  way,  received  all  her  votes  from  one 
exhibitor  and  his  family,  as  did  William 
Farnum. 

It  has  occurred  to  us  that  some  may 
think  that  theatre  employes  are  eligible 
to  vote.  That  is  not  true  in  this  contest. 
A  contest  open  to  employes  is  a  good 
idea,  but  it  will  have  to  wait  for  another 
time.  In  this  voting,  only  the  exhibitor, 
his  wife  and  his  children  (to  name  the 
usual  conditions)  are  eligible  to  cast  a 
ballot.  If  a  theatre  is  operated  by  part- 
ners, of  course,  each  partner  is  considered 
an  exhibitor,  and  the  rules  apply  to  him 
accordingly. 

Elsewhere  in  this  department  is  pub- 
lished the  name  of  each  voter,  by  theatre, 
and  his  or  her  choices.  Following  is  the 
standing  to  date  of  those  nominated: 


FEMININE 

Joan  Crawford  _   4 

Louise  Lovely    4 

Laura  La  Plante   3 

Clara  Bow  —   2 

Dolores  Costello    2 

Lillian  Gish    1 

Marian  Nixon    1 

Patsy  Ruth  Miller   1 

MALE 

Lon  Chaney    5 

William  Farnum    4 

William  Haines    2 

Richard  Dix    2 

John  Gilbert    1 

Give  Brook      1 

Glenn  Tryon    1 

Reginald  Denny    1 

Conrad  Nagel    1 


FBO 

THE  GREAT  MAIL  ROBBERY:  Ve.y  good.— 
Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

THE  CIRCUS  KID:  Frankie  Darro— Well,  well, 
here  is  a  real  circus  picture.  Frankie  Darro  and 
Poodles  Hanneford  are  good  in  this  one.  Drew  a  good 
house  and  patrons  were  well  pleased. — G.  A.  Dilla, 
Sun  theatre,  Farwell,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

THE  DESERT  PIRATE:  Tom  Tyler— 42%.  Decem- 
ber 14-15.  Not  much  to  this  one.  Just  a  fair  West- 
ern. Tyler  doesn't  seem  to  get  enough  action  in  his 
pictures.  Print  and  photography  fair.  Five  reels. 
— P.  G.  Held.  Strand  theatre.  Griswold,  Ia.— Neigh- 
borhood patronage. 

THE  PERFECT  CRIME:  Special  cast— This  was 
sold  as  a  special,  but  was  nothing  out  of  the  ordi- 
nary. All  patrons  kicked  on  the  finish  of  this  one  — 
G.  A.  Dilla.  Sun  theatre,  Farwell,  Neb. — General 
patronage. 

TERROR  MOUNTAIN:  Tom  Tyler— December  18- 
19.  It's  hard  to  tell  whether  to  call  this  a  Western 
or  not.    Shots  inside  the  6tudio  don't  make  a  good 


story,  but  this  seemed  to  go  over  about  average. 
Five  reels. — Frank  Johnson,  Opera  House,  Louisville, 
Neb. — Small  town  patronage. 

TERROR  MOUNTAIN:  Tom  Tyler— While  this  is 
not  a  Western,  it's  very  good  entertainment,  worked 
out  from  an  angle  different  from  that  of  any  picture 
I  remember  having  6een.  Plenty  of  action  and  com- 
edy and  some  good  snow  scenes.  Five  reels. — P.  G. 
Vaughan,  Sun  theatre,  Kansas  City.  Mo. — General 
patronage. 

CONEY  ISLAND:  Good.^Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand 
theatre,  Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

STOLEN  LOVE:  Special  cast — Just  a  fair  picture. 
Nothing  to  get  wild  about. — G.  A.  Dilla,  Sun  theatre, 
Farwell,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

TERROR  OF  BAR  X:  Special  cast- Not  so  good. 
— Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — 
General  patronage. 

BREED  OF  THE  SEA:  Ralph  Ince— December  22. 
— A  pretty  good  picture.  Didn't  have  much  of  a 
crowd.  However,  no  fault  of  the  picture.  Seven 
reels. — Andrew  Rapp.  Theatorium  theatre,  Emlenton, 
Pa. — General  patronage. 

NAUGHTY  NANETTE:  Special  cast— Good.— 
Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111.— Gen- 
eral patronage. 

FRECKLES:    Hobart  Boswortli — 75%.  August 

2.    It's  old  but  good;  that  is  why  I  went  back  to 

it  and  played  it.     Seven  reels — E.  J.  Hosock, 

Strand  theatre,  Pella,  Ia. — General  patronage. 

HOME  STRUCK :  Good.— Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand 
theatre,  Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

LOVES  OF  RICARDO:  George  Beban— There  is 
nothing  to  this  one.  Had  a  very  poor  crowd.  Seven 
reels. — Andrew  Rapp,  Theatorium  theatre,  Emlenton, 
Pa. — General  patronage. 

WIZARD  OF  THE  SADDLE:  Special  casV— It's 
good. — Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. 
— General  patronage. 

THE  CHEROKEE  KID:  Tom  Tyler— 32%.  Decem- 
ber 20.  Very  good  Tyler  picture.  One  of  his  best 
ones.  Print  and  photography  good.  Five  reels. — P. 
G.  Held.  Strand  theatre,  Griswold,  Ia. — Neighbor- 
hood patronage. 

THE  BANDIT'S  SON:  Just  fair.^Juliue  W. 
Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — General  patron- 
age. 

First  National 

BURNING  DAYLIGHT:  Milton  Sills— December 
12.  A  good  picture  and  well  liked. — M.  W.  Matte- 
check.  Lark  theatre,  McMinnville,  Ore. — General 
patronage. 

HAROLD  TEEN:  Special  cast — December 
27-28.  Good  take-off  on  the  comic  strip,  and 
enjoyed  by  all  the  younger  element.  Thought  I 
would  stick  this  in  for  Holiday  Week,  when  all 
the  Nit-Wits  from  the  Collitches  were  home  In 
their  coon  skins  in  order  to  touch  Pop  for  enough 
jack  to  last  'em  for  the  next  semester.  How- 
ever, most  of  'em  must  have  seen  it  on  the 
campus,  or  else  they  were  busy  necking  some- 
where out  in  a  snowdrift,  for  few  of  'em  planked 
down  cash  at  the  B.  O.  to  see  themselves  as  oth- 
ers see  'em.  Eight  reels. — William  E.  Tragsdorf. 
Trags  theatre,  Neillsville,  Wis. — Small  town  pat- 
ronage. 

HAROLD  TEEN:  Special  cast—  lji%.  December 
20-22.  A  collegiate  number  that  just  gets  over. 
Arthur  Lake  in  the  lead  is  very  good,  as  is  Alice 
White.  The  amateur  movie  sequence  is  too  long 
drawn  out  and  becomes  tiresome  and  misleading  to 
those  coming  in  when  it  is  on.  Pleased  the  younger 
generation.  Eight  reels. — S.  B.  Kennedy,  Central 
theatre,  Selkirk,  Man.,  Can. — General  patronage. 

HAROLD  TEEN:  Special  cast— November  29.  A 
silly  "ligh  School  story  that  even  the  kids  thought 
p™-   .   light.    Not  much  to  it.    Eight  reels. — M.  A. 


68 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


J.  C.  Jenkins — His  Colyum 


CHAMPAIGN,  ILLINOIS,  December  30,  1928. 

DEAR  HERALD-WORLD: 

This  city  is  still  decked  out  in  holiday  attire.  The  streets  are  arched  over  with  a  canopy 
of  red,  green,  orange  and  blue  lights  that  gives  the  impression  of  a  gala  day  at  the  county 
fair.  The  theatres  are  offering  excellent  entertainment  with  a  lack  of  patronage  that  is  diffi- 
cult to  understand,  and  this  calls  to  mind  the  question  that  has  been  asked  us  so  many, 
many  times  in  the  past  few  weeks,  WHAT'S  THE  MATTER  WITH  THE  BUSINESS? 

*  *  * 

While  it  has  been  a  lifelong  habit  of  ours  to  be  optimistic,  yet  this  typewriter  has  become 
pessimistic  in  spite  of  all  we  can  do.  This  is  occasioned,  no  doubt,  by  our  constant  desire  to 
tell  the  truth,  and  to  tell  the  truth  as  we  see  it  will  call  forth  a  storm  of  protest  from  the 
four  corners  of  the  earth,  and  we  will  be  charged  with  having  a  sour  stomach  superinduced 
by  a  disgruntled  disposition.  Be  that  as  it  may,  here  is  the  truth  as  we  see  it  and  as  we 
have  observed  it  during  our  wanderings  over  various  parts  of  the  realm  during  the  last  year. 

Generally  speaking,  attendance  at  theatres  is  gradually  falling  off.  That's  the  first  state- 
ment, mark  it  down.  In  the  show  business  it  is  considered  the  proper  thing  to  say  that 
business  is  good,  even  though  the  sheriff  is  standing  out  in  front  with  the  keys  in  his  hand. 
But  somehow  that  "hatchet"'  story  impressed  itself  on  our  mind  when  we  were  a  kid  and 
we  have  had  a  great  deal  of  admiration  for  little  George  ever  since,  although  historians  have 
disagreed  on  the  question  as  to  whether  it  was  an  apple  or  a  cherry  tree. 

On  January  1,  1931,  there  will  be  5,000  less  theatres  in  operation  than  there  will  be  on 
January  1,  1929.  That's  statement  No.  2 — mark  that  down  also,  and  if  you  want  to  put  a 
note  after  this  statement  saying  "that  guy  is  crazy,"  it  will  be  all  right  with  as. 

*  *  * 

How  do  we  arrive  at  that  conclusion?  It's  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world.  If  a  man  sees  a 
black  hen  laying  a  white  egg  he  knows  darned  well  that  it  isn't  a  Shanghai  rooster — that  is, 
if  he  knows  anything  about  chickens.  Your  fir.--t  question  naturally  would  be,  "What  is  the 
cause  and  what  is  the  remedy,"  and  here  is  where  we  all  get  into  deep  water.  The  man  who 
is  able  to  find  a  cause  and  point  a  remedy  is  the  man  who  is  worth  while,  that's  why  some 
candidates  are  elected  President  and  others  are  defeated.  We  are  not  very  strong  on  causes, 
but  when  it  comes  to  figuring  effects  we  believe  we  will  grade  100  per  cent.  In  the  last  four 
weeks  we  have  sat  in  no  less  than  50  theatres  that  we  know  didn't  take  in  enough  money  at 
the  box  office  to  pay  for  the  program,  and  anyone  who  can't  figure  the  effect  ought  to  be  put 
back  in  the  first  grade.  And  that's  why  we  say  that  there  will  be  5,000  less  theatres  two  years 
from  next  Tuesday. 

All  theories  are  good  provided  they  are  good  theories,  and  we  have  more  theories  than 
there  are  bootlegger-  outside  of  Chicago,  most  of  which  are  not  worth  a  nickel  [Editor's 
iNote:  Who,  the  bootleggers?]  and  the  balance  are  worth  even  less.  We  will  give  you  some 
of  them  but  we  wouldn't  have  the  nerve  to  charge  for  them. 

You  go  down  the  street  and  you  hear  Tom  Johnson  say  to  Bill  Smith,     "Why  the  I 
dickens  didn't  you  come  over  to  our  radio  party  last  night?   We  tuned  in  on  PX'i  M  and 
got  Billy  Burlap  and  his  jazz  orchestra  and  it  was  simply  immense!"  Well,  says  Bill.  "I  I 
wanted  "to  go  down  to  the  theatre  and  see  "THE  KISS  AT  MIDNIGHT"  but  when  I  got 
home  I  found  that  my  wife  had  invited  the  whole  damn  neighborhood  over  to  hear  Ted 
Malony's  'Royal  Syncopators'  over  XOPQ." 

*  *  * 

That's  one  of  the  causes.  Then  you  hear  the  blonde  at  the  ribbon  counter  a?k  the  clerk 
in  the  codfish  department  if  he  went  over  to  (the  nearest  city,  whatever  it  i-  I  and  heard  the 
Vitaphone.  She  simply  raves  about  it,  says  it  seemed  like  the  whole  town  was  over  there 
and  wonders  why  they  couldn't  have  such  entertainment  here  at  home.  And  she  wind-  up 
by  saying,  "This  theatre  manager  here  must  be  a  dub,  he  never  has  anything  Worth  seeing." 
That's  another  cause. 

Then  there  is  the  epidemic  of  flu,  of  basketball,  of  football,  of  election  excitement,  of 
home  talent  plays,  of  commencement  exercises,  of  Christmas  festivities,  of  house  parties,  of 
whist  parties  and  the  Lord  only  knows  what  else,  all  of  which  the  small  theatres  feel  the 
effect  of,  and  feel  it  so  strongly  that  we  again  assert  that  unless  something  unforseen  takes 
place  to  change  conditions,  the  small  theatres  are  doomed  and  there  will  be  none  left  except 
those  in  the  cities  and  possibly  county  seat  towns.  Yes,  this  is  a  pessimistic  view,  we  will 
grant.  We  would  like  to  get  up  on  top  of  this  hotel  and  shout  that  business  for  1929  had  a 
rosy  outlook,  and  shout  it  loud  enough  to  be  heard  from  Pipestone,  Minn.,  to  Tombstone, 
Ariz.,  but  that  old  hatchet  story  comes  up  in  our  mind  and,  like  George,  we  wouldn't  lie  to 
please  anybody  (unless  there  was  something  in  it,  and  there  isn't),  and  you  can  take  this 
for  what  it  is  worth,  which  isn't  much. 

We  have  tried  to  point  a  few  of  the  causes.   The  remedy  is  up  to  you.  We  don't  offer 
any  remedy,  and  if  you  can — and  one  that  will  bring  the  answer — you  would  be  worth  more  i 
to  Herb  in  his  cabinet  than  you  would  be  to  the  theatre  business,  and  that  is  saying  a  plenty, 
for  the  government  needs  such  as  you.  We  have  too  few  such  already. 

We  have  heard  it  frequently  said  by  men  who  run  off  at  the  mouth,  that  the  reason  the 
small  town  theatremen  are  not  making  a  success  is  because  they  are  lazy  and  unfit  for  the 
business.  We  will  grant  that  in  some  instances  this  is  true,  but  when  they  blanket  the  entire 
small  town  theatremen  with  this  scandalous  imputation,  we  are  going  to  resent  it  with  all 
the  power  we  have,  for  we  are  just  egotistical  enough  to  believe  that  if  there  is  a  man  in  the  | 
business  who  knows  these  boys  and  what  they  really  are,  we  are  the  guy,  for  if  our  associa- 
tions with  thousands  of  them  in  18  states  in  the  past  three  years  hasn't  taught  us  something, 

(Continued  on  next  page) 




Manning,  Opera  House.  Baldwin,  Wis. — Small  town 
patronage. 

THREE  RING  MARRIAGE:  Man'  Astor— 75%. 
December  1.  A  dandy  picture.  Everyone  pleased. 
Don't  be  afraid  to  step  on  this  one.  Seven  reek. — 
B.  Hollenbeck,  Rose  theatre,  Sumas,  Wash.— Small 
town  patronage. 


HAPPINESS  AHEAD:  Colleen  Moore— December 
25.  A  good  picture  and  well  liked. — M.  W.  Matte- 
check,  Lark  theatre,  McMinnville,  Ore. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

OH,  KAY:  Colleen  Moore— 80%.  December  22. 
Plenty  laughs  and  everybody  pleased.    Good  comedy. 


Seven  reels. — B.  Hollenbeck,  Rose  theatre,  Sumas, 
Wash. — Small  town  patronage. 

OH,  KAY:  Colleen  Moore— 75%.  Too  poor  to 
maintain  this  star'6  reputation.  She  must  deliver 
something  soon.  Curtains  are  in  sight.  Farce  com- 
edy, please,  75  per  cent. — M.  D.  Frazier,  Empress 
theatre,  Arma,  Kan. — General  patronage. 

OH,  KAY:  Colleen  Moore — Now  here's  the 
type  of  story  people  seem  to  like  Colleen  in,  yet 
it  failed  to  draw  any  extra  business  for  me. 
However,  the  weather  conditions  were  not  bo 
good.  It's  pretty  silly,  but  it  got  a  number  of 
laughs.  (Colleen,  I  received  your  Christmas 
photo  all  O.  K.  It  looks  just  like  you,  or  Al 
.Tolson,  I  can't  say  which  for  certain.  "Lilac 
Time"  better  do  some  business  or  else — ? — 
I'm  off  of  you.)  Seven  reels. — P.  G.  Vaughan, 
Sun  theatre,  Kansas  City,  Mo. — General  patron- 
age. 

THE  WHEEL  OF  CHANCE:  Richard  Barthelmess 
— 10%.  December  15,  Heavy  drama.  Good  picture 
of  its  type,  but  didn't  go  over  very  well  here.  Seven 
reels. — B.  Hollenbeck.  Rose  theatre,  Sumas,  Wash. — 
Small  town  patronage. 

THE  BIG  NOISE:  Chester  Conklin— December  7. 
Good  comedy — the  kind  you  enjoy. — M.  W.  Matte- 
check,  Lark  theatre,  McMinnville.  Ore. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  GIANTS:  Special  east- 
Good. — Julius  W.  Schmidt.  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. 
— General  patronage. 

HEART  TROUBLE:  Harry  Langdon— December 
14-15.  The  first  Langdon  ever  played  here  and  the 
last.  Of  all  the  eilly.  senseless  6tuff  put  in  a  fea- 
ture-length picture,  this  has  it.  Two  reels  would 
be  too  long  for  this  one.  Five  reels. — M.  A.  Man- 
ning, Opera  House,  Baldwin,  Wis. — Small  town  pat- 
ronage. 

CANYON  OF  ADVENTURE:  Special  cast— Good. 
—Julius  W.  Schmidt.  Grand  theatre.  Breese.  111.— 
General  patronage. 

THE  WHIP :  Dorothy  Mac-kail— While  this  is  a 
well  dressed,  well  acted  picture,  it  doesn't  click  or 
doesn't  please.  It  must  be  the  old  English  flavor. 
I  don't  know  what  else  it  can  be.  Too  many  long 
subtitles  also.  Seven  reels. — P.  G.  Vaughan,  Sun 
theatre.  Kansas  City,  Mo. — General  patronage. 

BROADWAY  NIGHTS:  Special  cast— Good.— 
Juliu6  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

THE  YELLOW  LILY:  Special  cast -This  is  one 
of  the  best  Billie  Dove  pictures  I  have  ever  run. 
The  work  of  Clive  Brook  is  remarkable.  A  story 
of  Russia  during  the  days  of  the  Czar.  A  good 
picture  that  you  can't  go  wrong  on. — W.  R.  Bratton, 
Stella  theatre,  Council  Glove,  Kan. — Small  town 
patronage. 

THE  NOOSE:  Richard  Barthelmess— Very  good. 
Eight  reels. — Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre, 
Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

THE  NOOSE:  Richard  Barthelmess -December  25. 
This  is  a  wonderful  picture.  Had  a  good  crowd. 
Acting  of  Alice  Joyce  is  wonderful.  Eight  reels. — 
Andrew  Rapp.  Theatorium  theatre,  Emlenton,  Pa.- — 
General  patronage. 

HEART  TO  HEART:  Special  cast— 85%.  Decem- 
ber 20-21.  Very  good  picture.  Miss  Astor  very  good. 
Story,  plot  and  acting  excellent.  Pleased  very  well. 
Not  a  special  but  an  A-l  program.  Eight  reels. — 
M.  D.  Frazier,  Empress  theatre,  Arma,  Kan. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

CHINATOWN  CHARLEY:  Johnny  Hines- Decem- 
ber 18.  Started  out  poor,  but  developed  into  an  in- 
teresting picture. — M.  W.  Mattecheck,  Lark  theatre, 
McMinnville,  Ore. — General  palronage. 

MAN  CRAZY:  Special  cast — Very  good.— Julius 
W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — General 
patronage. 

FLYING  ROMEOS:  Sidney  Murray— 60%.  Decem- 
ber 8.  Most  of  the  customers  seemed  satisfied.  Per- 
sonally didn't  think  very  much  of  this  one.  Seven 
reels. — B.  Hollenbeck.  Rose  theatre,  Sumas,  Wash. — 
Small  town  patronage. 

THE  TEXAS  STEER:  Will  Rogers— I  -was  about 
the  only  one  that  enjoyed  this.  Sure  fell  flat.  Oh, 
for  some  of  the  good  old  pictures  like  Bill  used  to 
make.  "Just  call  me  Jim" — those  are  the  kind  I 
believe  most  all  small  town  exhibitors  need  today. 
They  sure  were  CLEAN,  and  I  don't  remember  Bill 
kissing  Irene  Rich  once. — Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand 
theatre,  Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

THE  LITTLE  SHEPHERD  OF  KINGDOM  COME: 
Richard  Barthlemess— 80%.  November  29.  Ran  this 
Thanksgiving  afternoon  and  night  with  rain  and 
muddy  roads  as  my  opposition.  Had  a  good  crowd 
and  special  music  which  helped  the  picture  some. 
John  Fox.  Jr.'s  novel  of  the  Civil  War  period  again 
comes  to  the  screen,  and  for  people  who  have  never 
s  .en  it  before.  Richard  tries  hard  at  a  comeback 
in  a  Tol'able  David  role.— W.  R.  Bratton.  Stella  the- 
itre.  Council  Grove,  Kan. — Small  town  patronage. 

AMERICAN  BEAUTY:    Billie  Dove— Very  good.— 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS    H  ERALD -WORLD 


69 


J.  C.  Jenkins — His  Colyum 


{Continued  from  preceding  page) 

we  are  a  hopeless  case  and  a  flat  failure,  and  we  are  ready  to  stand  up  on  our  hind  legs — and 
fight  Jack  Dempsey  if  he  would  make  that  charge  against  us.  We  have  found  the  great 
majority  of  these  boys  honest,  energetic,  and  doing  all  they  can  to  make  their  theatres  a 
success,  and  we  are  going  to  go  further  and  say,  that  if  a  lot  of  chain  theatre  managers  were 
to  put  a  lot  of  these  boys  to  managing  their  theatres,  and  dispense  with  a  bunch  of  ninnies 
that  can  only  see  their  pay  check  on  Saturday  night  and  the  gumchewing  dame  at  the  rib- 
bon counter  at  showtime,  they  would  note  a  marked  difference  in  receipts.  Think  it  over. 
""We  may  be  crazy  but  we  ain't  no  fool." 

Now  isn't  the  foregoing  an  awful  thing  to  write  right  here  in  the  holiday  season  when  we 
are  supposed  to  have  an  optimistic  view  of  things  for  the  coming  year?  If  we  could  have 
i  spent  five  minutes  in  Bill  Weaver"?  cellar  before  we  commenced  this  Colyum  we  might 
have  had  a  different  outlook  on  conditions,  but  you  know  how  Bill  is,  he's  so  doggone  par- 
ticular about  these  "dry  Republican-." 

Well,  that's  that,  and  now  if  you  are  still  staying  with  us,  let's  proceed  with  another 
chapter. 

*  *  * 

Over  at  Montezuma.  Ind..  th<-  other  night  we  saw  "The  Strange  Case  of  Captain  Ramper," 
released  by  First  National.  We  don't  think  First  National  made  the  thing — we  have  more 
confidence  in  First  National — but  how  they  came  to  release  it  under  their  banner  is  what 
puzzles  US. 

The  players  were  a  bunch  of  Dutch  ^ho  should  have  been  making  saurkraut  and  lim- 
burger  cheese  rather  than  pictures.  The  thing  contained  about  as  much  entertainment  as 
one  would  get  when  the  bulldog  was  tearing  the  seat  out  of  his  '"trowsers"  when  he  was  steal- 
ing watermelon-.  Just  about  that  much  and  no  more.  We  stuck  to  the  finish  because  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  voung  had  invited  u?  to  their  home  after  the  show  to  have  a  little  lunch,  and  to  lunch 
with  those  people  would  make  a  man  stick  through  anything.  And  speaking  of  people  and 
lunches,  well  if  you  don't  know  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Young  and  their  lunches,  you  have  our  sym- 
pathy. Maybe  one  reason  why  we  are  strong  for  these  folks  is  that  they  came  from  our  old 
stamping  ground  up  at  Dowagiac.  Mich.,  and  anybody  from  Michigan  is  ace  high  with  us. 
We  hope  to  go  back  there  sometimes — we  are  invited,  too. 

Then  we  had  another  delightful  vigil  with  R.  L.  Nellis  of  the  Strand  at  Crawford-ville. 
Wirh  we  had  a  good  theatre  that  we  wanted  well  managed.  We  would  try  and  hook  up  with 
this  boy  Nellis.  for  he  impre-sed  us  as  a  boy  with  plenty  of  "IT",  as  well  as  pep  and  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  bn-ine--.  Can't  -ee  why  some  big  theatre  hasn't  grabbed  that  boy 
before  this. 

Believe  it  or  not.  but  over  at  Cayuga,  F.  C.  Richardson  of  the  Princes-,  offered  us  some 
"Christmas  Cheer"  which  we  refused.  Again  we  say  "Believe  it  or  not."  We  also  had  a  very 
pleasant  visit  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  W.  Hughes  of  the  Crystal.  Cayuga's  two  theatres  is  one 
too  many.  Tbey  should  be  consolidated,  but  that's  some  more  of  their  business. 

We  al-o  had  a  delightful  visit  with  Miss  Dorothea  Clark,  who  operates  the  Empire  at 
Chri-man.  111.  Miss  Clark  was  out  billing  the  town  when  we  called,  and  yet  some  people 
say  that  theatre  folks  are  lazy.  We  will  hit  anybody  on  the  nose  that  dares  to  say  that  of 
Mi—  Clark.  We  won't  -tand  for  it. 

Mrs.  Knox  and  her  son  of  the  Star  at  Villa  Grove  certainly  gave  us  a  very  warm  welcome. 
We  would  like  to  visit  thein  again  when  we  have  more  time,  and  we  were  cordially  invited 
to  do  so. 

*  *  * 

Last  night  we  saw  "Lights  of  New  York,"  with  the  Yitaphone.  This  is  a  booze-ring-under- 
world-crook story  in  which  the  boss  crook  got  shot,  for  which  we  thanked  the  director. 

We  don't  recall  who  played  the  "heavy"  but  he  played  it  well.  We  recognized  Cullin 
Landis.  Cullin  has  been  a  fa\orite  of  ours  ever  since  we  played  him  in  '"The  Girl  from 
Outside"  some  year  ago.  He  played  his  part  in  this  as  well  as  we  could  have  played  it  our- 
self,  therefore  we  have  nothing  to  kick  about,  except  that  if  he  and  that  heavy  are  going  to 
play  with  Yitaphone  attachment  they  should  have  their  adenoids  removed  and  should  cool 
their  mu-h  before  they  try  to  eat  it,  for  their  voices  register  about  as  well  as  does  Gertie 
McFadden'-  when  ?he  .-ings  the  aria  from  Anheuser-Busch  in  five  flats  over  station  QXPG. 
This  isn't  anything  to  the  di-credit  of  Yitaphone,  for  we  heard  Conrad  Nagel  in  a  trailer 
announcement  of  a  coming  attraction  and  his  voice  registered  perfectly.  We  believe  there 
are  such  things  as  "\  itaphone  voices."  Take  our  own  voice,  for  instance.  We've  got  a  won- 
derful voice  for  calling  hog-,  but  we  doubt  if  it  would  register  well  in  a  love  scene  over 
the  Yitaphone. 

But  getting  back  to  the  subject  of  "What's  the  Matter  with  the  Busine-s."  Producing 
companies  make  pictures  like  four  mills  make  flour.  They  make  "Patent,"  "Straight  Grade" 
and  "Low-  Grade,"  and  mills  having  a  dam  -ite  put  a  damsite  more  of  the  raw  material  in 
the  "Low  Grade"  than  they  do  in  the  "Patent."  During  the  war  we  all  ate  dog  u i t -  made 
out  of  "Low  Grade"  flour,  and  some  of  us  are  kicking  about  it  yet.  The  public  will  take 
"Low  Grade"  flour  with  about  the  same  relish  they  do  low  grade  pictures.  The  effect  is 
ju?t  about  the  same.  Maybe  tli3t  has  something  to  do  with  business — who  knows? 

*  *  * 

News  Item:  Clark  Munson.  assistant  manager  with  A.  N.  Gonsior  in  the  Virginia  theatre 
here  in  Champaign,  is  said  to  be  recovering  from  a  very  serious  operation.  Mr.  Munson  will 
be  remembered  as  winning  second  place  in  Harold  Lloyd  -  "Speedy"  contest.  Here's  hoping 
he  will  >oon  be  back  at  his  desk. 

J.  C.  JENKINS. 
The  HERALD-WORLD  Man. 

i    P.  S.— The  HERALD-WORLD  covers  the  field  like  an  APRIL  SHOWER. 


Julius  Wi  Schmidt.  Grand  theatre.  Breese,  111. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

DANCE  MAGIC:  Pauline  Stark— 56%.  December 
16-17.  Good  program  picture  with  some  wonderful 
acting  by  Pauline  Stark.  Print  and  photography 
good.  Seven  reels. — P.  G.  Held,  Strand  theatre.  Gris- 
wold,  la. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

Fox 

MOTHER  MACHREE:  Special  cast— 30<=0.  De- 
cember 24-26.  Just  a  nice,  sweet,  clean  picture  with 
some  comedy  and  many  glycerine  tears.  There  is  a 
note  of  sincerity  lacking  in  this  that  just  makes  it 
fail  to  get  over.  My  patrons  laughed  at  some  scenes 
when  they  were  supposed  to  cry.  Not  a  special  by 
any  means,  Mr.  Fox.  Only  fair  business  on  Christ- 
mas day.  Seven  reels. — S.  B.  Kennedy.  C«ntra' 
theatre,  Selkirk,  Man..  Can. — General  patronage. 

ROMANCE  OF  THE  UNDERWORLD:  Mary  Astor 
— Very  good  picture.  Plenty  of  action.  Had  many 
compliments  on  this  one.  Enjoyed  by  all  who  saw 
it.  Six  reels. — R.  H.  Nail,  Nusho  theatre.  Duke, 
Okla. — General  patronage. 

BLOOD  WILL  TELL:  Special  cast — Good.— Julius 
W.  Schmidt.  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — General 
patronage. 

NO  OTHER  WOMAN:     Dolores  Del  Rio— De- 
cember 21-22.     A   very  good  little  picture  that 
failed  to  draw,  probably  en  account  of  the  holi- 
day season.    Miss  Del  Rio  is  extremely  hard  to 
beat,  but  the  picture  is  too  short  to  cast  her  in, 
because  she  should  never  be  cast  in  a  short  pic- 
ture.    "No  Other  Woman"  is  only  a  little  over 
5,000    feet.     Six    reels. — Frank    Johnson,  Opera 
House,  Louisville.  Neb. — Small  town  patronage. 
DAREDEVIL'S  REWARD :     Tom  Mix— 60%.  De- 
cember 7-8.    A  good  Mix  Western.    Will  please  those 
that   like  Tom   Mix.     Print   and   photography  fair. 
Five  reels. — P.  G.  Held.  Strand  theatre,  Griswold,  la. 
- — Neighboring  patronage. 

GIRL  SHY  COWBOY:  December  17.  We  played 
this  one  Saturday  night  with  a  two-reel  comedy. 
"No  Picnic,"  and  let  me  tell  you,  this  combination. 
Western  and  comedy,  goes  ovei  big  and  puts  pep 
in  pictures  that  draws  them  back  to  see  what's 
next.  This  Western  type  in  this  picture  is  not  the 
old  style  shoot-'em-up  kind.  It's  a  pleasing,  easy- 
to-understand  kind  of  a  picture.  Why,  there  are 
bushels  of  the  most  beautiful  girls  all  dressed  up 
in  bathing  costumes  playing  leap  frog  with  this 
"Girl  Shy  Cowboy,"  and  I  will  bet  there  were  fifty 
or  more  boys  in  my  theatre  who  would  have  given 
their  month's  salary  to  have  been  this  cowboy.  Why, 
this  kind  of  picture  is  fun,  for  they  all  like  the 
bathing  suit  styles  'way  down  here  in  Dixie. — Walter 
Odom  and  Sons,  Dixie  theatre,  Durant,  Miss. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

ARIZONA  WILDCAT:  Special  cast— Good.— Julius 
W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — General 
patronage. 

SILK  LEGS:    Madge  Bellamy— Very  clever,  in- 
deed.   Brought  out  a  let  of  old  tightwad  fogies, 
that  evidently  expected  to  see  a  burlesque  show 
for  25  cents,  but  I  believe  they  were  all  satisfied. 
Would  certainly  like  an  autograph  photo  of  Miss 
Bellamy.    Six  reels. — Geo.  H.  Koch,  Gem  theatre, 
Lyndon,  Kan. — General  patronage. 
THE  ESCAPE:    Special  cast — December  7-8.  Very 
good  underworld  drama.     Miss  Valli  very  good,  also 
William   Russell   and   George   Meeker.     Good  print. 
Six  reels. — Frank  Johnson,  Opera  House.  Louisville. 
Neb. — Small  town  patronage. 

BLACK  JACK:  Special  cast— Good. — Julius  W. 
Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — General  patron- 
age. 

DEADWOOD  COACH:  Tom  Mix— Very  good 
Western,  enjoyed  by  everyone.  Could  be  run  as 
special.  Seven  reels. — R.  H.  Nail,  Nusho  theatre, 
Duke.  Okla. — General  patronage. 

VERY  CONFIDENTIAL:  Special  cast— Good.— 
Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

A  HIGH  SCHOOL  HERO:  Special  cast— I  thought 
this  one  very  good,  but  a  flop  at  the  box  office. 
Don't  promise  anything  only  just  a  light  entertain- 
ment.— A.  G.  Miller,  Lyric  theatre,  Atkinson,  Neb. — 
General  patronage. 

A  GIRL  IN  EVERY  PORT:  Special  cast^-Good.— 
Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — 
General  patronage. 

SQUARE  CROOKS:  Special  cast— December  11-12. 
A  very  good  program  picture.  This  is  the  first  time 
we  have  shown  Mr.  Armstrong,  and  he  is  good.  The 
child  actor  in  this  is  fine  also.  Six  reels. — Frank 
Johnson,  Opera  House,  Louisville,  Neb. — Small  town 
patronage. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 

DREAM  OF  LOVE:  Joan  Crawford— December  23. 
Just  a  fair  picture,  but  will  please  the  ladies  im- 


mensely.— M.  W.  Mattecheck,  Lark  theatre,  McMinn- 
ville.  Ore. — General  patronage. 

THE  ADVENTURER:  Tim  McCoy— December  22. 
Good. — J.  S.  Walker.  Texas  theatre.  Grand  Prairie, 
Tex. — Small  town  patronage. 

THE  ADVENTURER:    Tim  McCoy— December  4-5. 


Rather  light  action  picture  of  a  South  American  revo- 
lution. Print  seemed  chopped  up  and  was  rather 
dark  in  places.  A  good  attraction  for  family  nights. 
Five  reek.  Frank  Johnson.  Opera  House,  Louisville, 
Neb. — Small  town  patronage. 

FOUR   WALLS :     John   Gilbert— 90V  September 


70 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


By  the  Way  

"Any  picture  with  Sue  Carol  is  bound  to  be  good,"  comments  Mrs.  Hulda  J.  Green  of  the 
Gem  in  Greenriver,  Utah.  Now,  if  Mrs.  Green  will  vote  for  her  in  the  "My  Favorite  Play- 
ers" contest,  Miss  Carol  will  be  doubly  benefited. 

*  *  * 

Due  to  our  correspondence  course  in  deteckatif  work,  we  discovered  that  Bill  Tragsdorf 
of  the  Trags  in  Neillsville,  Wis.,  has  been  walloped  by  the  flu.  And  our  only  clue  was, 
"Due  to  the  flu  having  a  stranglehold  on  me,  I  didn't  see  this  .  .  ."  written  in  one  of  his  re- 
ports. 

*  *  * 

W alter  Odom  of  the  Dixie  in  Durant,  Miss.,  whispers  concerning  a  picture,  "There  are 
bushels  of  the  most  beautiful  girls  all  dressed  up  in  bathing  costumes  playing  leap  frog  with 
this  'Girl  Shy  Cowboy,'  and  I  will  bet  that  there  were  50  or  more  boys  in  my  theatre  who 
would  have  given  their  month's  salary  to  have  been  this  cowboy.  .  .  .  They  all  like  the 
bathing  suit  styles  down  here  in  Dixie."  All  of  which  gives  us  the  low-down  on  the  Sunny 
South,  eh,  what? 

*  *  * 

And  J.  S.  Walker  of  the  Texas  in  Grand  Prairie,  Tex.,  learns  that  there  is  always  some- 
thing new  under  the  sun.  "I  have  never  seen  a  picture  of  the  stage  or  of  actors  or  studios 
that  was  worth  a  darn,  but  I  saw  some  of  my  patrons  leave  weeping,  so  this  had  something." 


12.  Gilbert  takes  well  here,  and  the  rental  is  right. 
I  think  it  one  of  his  beet.  Seven  reels. — E.  J. 
Hosoek,  Strand  theatre,  Pella,  la. — General  patron- 
age. 

BEAU  BROADWAY:     Cody-Pringle— December  19. 

Lively  farce.  Liked  by  patrons.  Business  blah. — 
Joseph  Conway,  Egyptian  theatre,  Bala-Cynwyd,  Pa. 
— General  patronage. 

BEAU  BROADWAY:  Cody-Pringle— December 
19-20.  A  delightful  comedy  that  pretty  Sue  Carol 
helps  wonderfully.  The  conclusion  of  the  story  is 
rushed  a  little  too  much. — J.  S.  Walker,  Texas  the- 
atre. Grand  Prairie,  Tex. — Small  town  patronage. 

BEAU  BROADWAY:  Cody-Pringle— Played  this 
picture  during  the  pre-Christmas  6lump  and  flu  epi- 
demic, so  can't  tell  as  to  its  pulling  powers,  but  it's 
a  mighty  nice  comedy-drama.  Everyone  seemed  sur- 
prised that  it  was  such  a  good  picture.  Judging  by 
the  title  they  didn't  expect  much.  You  needn't  be 
afraid  of  it.  Seven  reels. — P.  G.  Vaughan,  Sun 
theatre,  Kansas  City,  Mo. — General  patronage. 

THE  BABY  CYCLONE:  Cody-Pringle— 37%.  De- 
cember 23.  Wise  exhibitors  will  leave  this  in  the 
can,  or  wish  they  had.  If  you  feel  you  must  run 
it,  don't  make  the  mistake  we  did  and  remain  in 
view  as  the  audience  leaves.  Said  to  be  a  storm  of 
laughs,  but  it's  just  dead  silly.  We  have  one  more 
Cody-Pringle  to  run,  and  then  this  team  is  through 
forever  in  Nevada,  O.  Photograph  or  lighting  tech- 
nique gives  a  rather  dark  result.  Good  print.  Seven 
reels.— Wolfe  &  Williams,  Screenland  theatre,  Ne- 
vada, O. — Small  town  patronage. 

WHILE  THE  CITY  SLEEPS:  Lon  Chaney— De- 
cember 17.  Good  crook  picture  with  Chaney  in  a 
straight  role,  which  seemed  to  please  the  few  that 
saw  it.  Chaney  doesn't  mean  a  thing  here. — Joseph 
Conway,  Egyptian  theatre,  Bala-Cynwyd,  Pa. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

WHILE  THE  CITY  SLEEPS:  Lon  Chaney— While 
this  is  another  underworld  story,  it's  not  just  like 
the  others.  Lon  Chaney  is  minus  makeup  and  plays 
the  part  of  a  hard-boiled  detective.  The  entire  cast 
does  good  work,  and  I'd  consider  it  his  best  picture 
for  some  time.  It  seemed  to  please.  Eight  reels. — • 
P.  G.  Vaughan,  Sun  theatre,  Kansas  City,  Mo. — 
General  patronage. 

MASKS  OF  THE  DEVIL:  John  Gilbert— 15%.  De- 
cember 17-19.  Heavy  sophisticated  drama  that  is 
not  suitable  for  small  towns.  There  are  some  novelty 
shots  showing  what  the  principal  is  really  thinking 
about  while  his  actions  are  the  reverse.  Business 
poor.  Eight  reels. — S.  B.  Kennedy,  Central  theatre, 
Selkirk,  Man.,  Can. — General  patronage. 

NAPOLEON:  Special  cast— Brother  exhibitors,  for 
heaven's  sake  stay  from  this  one,  it's  terrible.  The 
worst  bunch  of  junk  I  have  run  in  four  years.  It's 
a  British  film,  released  by  M  G  M.  No  stars,  no 
actors,  no  directing.  Amateur  cameramen,  and  some 
kid  must  have  done  »he  cutting.  Four  and  five 
blocks  of  some  scenes.  I  screened  it  in  two  towns 
and  the  children  couldn't  even  stand  it.  Take  my 
advice  and  don't  even  use  this.  Eight  reels. — Ray 
P.  Murphy,  Murphy's  theatres,  Newark,  O. — Small 
town  patronage. 

NAPOLEON:  Special  cast— December  27.  No 
good.  My  patrons  do  not  care  much  for  costume  plays. 
Eight  reels. — Andrew  Rapp,  Theatorium  theatre,  Em- 
lenton.  Pa. — General  patronage. 

THE  CARDBOARD  LOVER:  Marion  Davies— 70%. 
Not  60  good  as  this  6tar  should  turn  out.  Very 
ordinary  program. — M.  D.  Frazier,  Empress  theatre, 
Arma,  Kan. — General  patroitage. 

THE  MYSTERIOUS  LADY:  Greta  Garbo— Very 
fine  foreign   war  secret  service  story.     Acting  fine 


and  very  pleasing. — M.  D.  Frazier,  Empress  theatre. 
Arma,  Kan. — General  patronage. 

THE  ENEMY:  Lillian  Gish— 60%.  September  11. 
Good,  and  this  star  always  clean.  Eight  reels. — ■ 
E.  J.  Hosock,  Strand  theatre,  Pella,  la. — General 
patronage. 

LOVELORN:  Special  cast.— December  9.  Just 
fair. — M.  W.  Mattecheck,  Lark  theatre,  McMinnville, 
Ore. — General  patronage. 

ACROSS  TO  SINGAPORE:  Ramon  Navarro 
— December  27-29.  A  rough  and  ready  sea  story 
that  carries  a  punch.  Torrence  and  Navarro  d.» 
splendid  work.  Cake  for  the  small  towns.  Seven 
reels. — S.  B.  Kennedy,  Central  theatre,  Selkirk, 
Man.,  Can. — General  patronage. 

EXCESS  BAGGAGE:  William  Haines— Decem- 
ber 21.  Excellent  story  of  back-stage  life,  with 
Haines  proving  he  doesn't  always  have  to  play 
the  smart  alex.  Usual  business. — Joseph  Con- 
way, Egyptian  theatre,  Bala-Cynwyd,  Pa. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

TELLING  THE  WORLD:  William  Haines— De- 
cember 14-15.  Not  so  bad  and  not  so  good.  Several 
flaws  in  the  picture  which  were  hard  for  the  cash 
customers  to  follow.  Haines  has  never  beat  "West 
Point"  yet.  Business  off  a  little.  Good  print. — 
Frank  Johnson,  Opera  House,  Louisville,  Neb. — Small 
town  patronage. 

A  LADY  OF  CHANCE:  Norma  Shearer— One  •  of 
the  best  in  which  Miss  Shearer  has  appeared  lately. 
Drew  favorable  comment  from  patrons. — Joe  Hewitt. 
Strand  theatre.  Robinson,  111. — General  patronage. 


Contest  Leader 


JOAN  CRAWFORD 
M  G  M 


WEST  POINT:  William  Haines— 65%.  September 
19.  This  star  takes  well  here  and  always  pleases. 
Eight  reels. — E.  J.  Hosock,  Strand  theatre,  Pella,  la. 
— General  patronage. 

WICKEDNESS  PREFERRED:  Cody-Pringle— De- 
cember 21.  Not  much  to  this  one. — M.  W.  Matte- 
check,  Lark  theatre,  McMinnville,  Ore. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

LOVE:  Very  good.— Julius  W.  Schmidt.  Grand 
theatre,  Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

SKIRTS:  Sid  Chaplin — 80%.  Another  farce 
comedy  with  mother-in-law  hokum.  Pleased  well. — 
M.  D.  Frazier,  Empress  theatre,  Arma,  Kan. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

Paramount 

SOMEONE  TO  LOVE:  Brian-Rogers— December 
23-24.  Good.  Eight  reels. — J.  J.  Hoffman.  Plainview 
theatre,  Plainview,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

THE  WEDDING  MARCH:  Special  cast^25%.  De- 
cember 23-24.  A  very  big  picture.  Direction  and 
cast  great,  but  did  not  give  satisfaction  here  after 
my  first  show.  We  did  no  business,  for  they  all 
knocked  the  picture. — Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  the- 
atre, Greenville,  Mich.- — General  patronage. 

THE  MATING  CALL:  Thomas  Meighan— Decem- 
ber 12-13.  ..Picture  follows  original  story  unusually 
well  and  handles  the  Ku  Klux  angle  wonderfully  ;  both 
Kluck  and  Anti-Kluck  can  see  this  good  picture. — 
J.  S.  Walker,  Texas  theatre,  Grand  Prairie.  Tex. — 
Small  town  patronage. 

JUST   MARRIED:     Special    cast— This   is   a  fair 
program  picture.    Played  this  one  two  nights.  The 
first  night  we  filled  the  house.     Second  night  not 
much  crowd,  so  you  see  it  is  only  good  for  one.  night. 
Showing   opinions  differ,   some  6ay   it's   real  good 
while  others  did  not  think  it  was  much  of  a  picture. 
But  you  cannot  always  please  all  of  them.    So  we 
have  to  move  on  doing  the  best  we  can  at  all  times. 
I  have  lots  of  people  come  to  the  ticket  window 
and  talk  over  show  business  with  me  in  regards 
to  the  talking  pictures,  etc.,  and  what  Informa- 
tion I  can  find  out  in  this  way,  people  who  have 
heard  the  sound  and  talking  pictures  have  lost 
interest  in  the  silent  pictures  and  I  do  believe 
this  is  the  way  they  really  feel  about  it,  and  ex- 
pressing my  feeling,  I  will  have  to  admit  I  feel 
that  I  would  have  so  much  more  interest  in  my 
show  business  if  I  was  all  equipped  with  this 
device.    I  see  my  crowds  diminishing  day  by  day. 
They  don't  seem  to  look  on  my  theatre  with  the 
interest  they  did  before  they  heard  the  talking 
device.    It  seems  it  is  all  right  in  going  to  see 
the  silent  picture  until  they  have  heard  sound 
and  talking  pictures,  and  I  tell  you  we  small 
town  showmen  are  going  to  suffer.    It's  a  killer 
for  us.    The  big  changes  in  everything  now-days 
is  right  on  us,  and  those  big  show  owners  are 
advertising  right  in  our  little  towns,  telling  all 
of  our  customers  to  come  to  their  theatres  and 
"See— Hear"  the  big  time  shows  they  are  having, 
and  believe  me  they  are  going  in  droves. 
And  60  if  we  want  to  dance  and  pay  the  fiddler 
we  have  got  to  make  a  big  noise  right  away  and, 
believe  me,  I  am  going  to  get  busy.     Six  reels. — 
Walter  Odom  &  Sons,  Dixie  theatre,  Durant,  Miss. — 
General  patronage. 

LOVES  OF  AN  ACTRESS:  Pola  Negri— December 
10-11.  I  have  never  seen  a  picture  of  the  etage  or 
of  actors  or  studios  that  was  worth  a  daa*n,  but  I 
saw  some  of  my  patrons  leave  weeping,  so  guess 
this  had  something. — J.  S.  Walker,  Texas  theatre. 
Grand  Prairie,  Tex. — Small  town  patronage. 

TAKE  ME  HOME:  Bebe  Daniels— 85%.  Decem- 
ber 16.  Nothing  to  write  home  about  or  to  cause 
any  particular  complaint,  but  hardly  up  to  Bebe's 
capacity.  Held  audience's  interest.  Six  reels. — M.  D. 
Frazier,  Empress  theatre,  Arma,  Kan. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  DRAG  NET:  George  Bancroft— -50%.  Decem- 
ber 20.  Due  to  some  adverse  reports,  was  a  little 
afraid  of  this  one,  but  the  majority  of  the  customers 
seemed  to  be  satisfied.  Eight  reels. — B.  Hollenbeck, 
Rose  theatre,  Sumas,  Wash. — Small  town  patronage. 

THE  BIG  KILLING:  Beery-Hatton— Don't  see  why 
exhibitors  knock  this  one.  I  consider  it  a  real  com- 
edy. My  house  laughed  till  they  cried.  Beery  and 
Hatton  popular  here. — G.  A.  Dilla,  Sun  theatre, 
Farwell,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

KIT  CARSON:  Fred  Thomson — 40%.  December 
21-22.  To-  Me  is  putting  it  mildly.  Every  Thomson 
gets  worse.  Thomson  doesn't  even  try  to  act.  Silver 
King,  who  has  always  been  50  per  cent  of  the  team, 
doesn't  do  one  thing.  Great  opportunity  was  passed 
up  both  in  I  -y  and  star  to  make  a  great  picture. 
Eight  reels. — M.  D.  Frazier,  Empress  theatre,  Arma, 
Kan. — General  patronage. 

WINGS:  Special  cast— 84%.  December  21-22.  A 
very  good  picture  and  is  as  big  as  it  is  said  to  be, 
but  we  didn't  do  so  well  with  it.  School  doings  first 
night,  6econd  night  a  lot  better,  but  not  quite 
enough.  Fifteen  reels. — Mrs.  Hulda  J.  Green,  Gero 
theatre,  Greenriver,  Utah. — General  patronage. 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


71 


How  They  Voted 


Following  is  the  list  of  voters  in  the  "My  Favorite  Players"  contest,  with  their  respective  choices 
for  male  and  feminine  players  (in  parentheses),  and  arranged  by  theatres.  The  first  voter's  name  is 
that  of  the  exhibitor,  the  next  that  of  his  wife  ( except  when  conditions  are  otherwise ),  and  the  rest 
those  of  the  children.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  arrange  the  list  in  any  special  order,  although 
the  position  of  each  theatre  is  approximately  according  to  the  time  the  ballot  representing  it  ivas 
received. 

Broadway.   Brooklyn,   la.— M.   A.   Fauver    (Laura   La   Plante,    Lo»   Chaney)  ;   Mrs.M.   A.   Fauver    (Joan   Crawford,   Lon  Chaney)  ;    Suranne   Fauver    (Joan  Crawford 

Lou  Chaney);  Jack  Fauver  (Laura  La  Plante,  Loo  Chaney). 
Richards,  Fayette,  Ala.  B.  J.  Loftis  (Dolores  Costello,  William  Halnea). 

Grand,  Angelica,  >".  Y.  P.  J.  Lon-berrv   (Marian  Nixon,  Lon  Chaney);  Mrs.  P.  J.  Lonsberry   (Lillian  Gish,  John  Gilbert). 

Cozy,  Winchester,  Ind.  Will  H.  Brenner  (Dolores  Costello,  Conrad  Naeel). 

Regent.  Wayland,  Mich.  N.  E.  Frank   (Joan  Crawford,  William  Haines);  Mrs.  N.  E.  Frank   (Joan  Crawford,  Richard  DU). 

Lansdale.   Lansriale.  Pa.  John  L.  Comfort    (Louise  Lovelv.  William  Farnum)  :   James  Comfort    (Louise   Lovely,   William   Farnum)  ;   Mary   Comfort    (Lou  se  Lovely, 

William  Farnum);  Cyril  Comfort   (Louise  Lovely,  Willi  am  Farnum). 


THE  FIRST  KISS:  Cooper-Wray— 90%.  December 
23.  Very  fine  picture  with  a  good  audience  appeal. 
Title  is  very  misleading.  Not  a  special  but  will  stand 
the  pressure  of  a  campaign.  Six  reels. — M.  D. 
Frazier,  Empress  theatre,  Arma,  Kan. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  FIRST  KISS:  Cooper-Wray— December  17-18. 
This  title  cost  me  half  my  business,  but  the  picture 
is  another  one  in  which  the  director  followed  the 
original  6tory.  "Four  Brothers,"  unusually  well — 
the  result  was  as  good  a  picture  as  you  will  have 
this  year. — J.  S.  Walker,  Texas  theatre.  Grand 
Prairie,  Tex. — Small  town  patronage. 

THE  SHOWDOWN:  George  BrancrofV-December 
14.  A  poor  6tory — poorer  morals — and  poorest  at- 
tendance. Rotten  from  start  to  finish. — M.  W.  Matte- 
check.  Lark  theatre,  McMinnville,  Ore. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

SAWDUST  PARADISE:  Esther  Ralston— Decem- 
ber 21.  It'll  do. — J.  S.  Walker.  Texas  theatre.  Grand 
Prairie.  Tex. — Small  town  patronage. 

OPEN  RANGE:  Special  cast— A  good  Western, 
but  had  a  poor  print  on  this  one. — G.  A.  Dilla,  Sun 
theatre,  Farwell,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

HOT  NEWS:  Bebe  Daniels— 50%.  December  5. 
Her  best  one  for  some  time,  although  we  had  a  poor 
house,  due  to  the  cold.  Seven  reels. — B.  Hollen- 
beck,  Rose  theatre,  Sumas,  Wash. — Small  town  pat- 
ronage. 

FEEL  MY  PULSE:  Bebe  Daniels— Bebe  Daniels 
was  exceptionally  good  in  this  one.  This  is  her  third 
picture  that  I  have  run  and  I  say  "Hats  off!"  to 
Bebe.  You  can't  go  wrong  on  her  pitcures. — G.  A. 
Dilla,  Sun  theatre,  Farwell.  Neb. — General  patron- 
age. 

GET  YOUR  MAN:  Clara  Bow— December  7-8. 
The  fiist  picture  of  hers  to  play  here,  and  the  crowd 
seemed  to  like  it.  A  good  little  picture. — M.  A. 
Manning,  Opera  House,  Baldwin,  Wis. — Small  town 
patronage. 

WHAT  A  NIGHT:  Bebe  Daniels— Very  nice  little 
picture  and  drew  well  with  favorable  comment  from 
patrons.  Bebe  is  one  of  the  few  of  the  older  stars 
who  still  holds  her  following. — Joe  Hewitt,  Strand 
theatre,  Robinson,  III. — General  patronage. 

MAN  OF  THE  FOREST:  Jack  Holt— 80%.  Decem- 
ber 12.  Good  Western.  Old,  but  went  over  fine 
here.  The  names  of  Jack  Holt  and  Zane  Grey  al- 
ways assures  a  good  house  for  me.  Six  reels. — B. 
Hollenbeck,  Rose  theatre,  Sumas,  Wash. — Small  town 
patronage. 

THE  SPOTLIGHT:  Esther  Ralston— 29%.  Decem- 
ber 22.  Just  a  splinter  from  the  block.  Not  much 
of  a  picture  for  Saturday  in  a  small  town.  Receipts 
seven  dollars  short  of  expenses.  Six  reels. — Wolfe  & 
Williams.  Screenland  theatre.  Nevada,  O. — Small  town 
patronage. 

HULA:  Clara  Bow — Fine  picture  to  very  poor 
business,  am  sorry  to  report.  Clara,  how  about  an 
autographed  photo?  Six  reels. — Geo.  H.  Koch,  Gem 
theatre,  Lyndon,  Kan. — General  patronage. 

STARK  LOVE:  Special  cast— 50%.  December 
23.  Out  of  the  ordinary  picture.  It  is  made  in 
the  Big  Smoky  mountains  in  the  Carolinas,  and 
the  actors  are  natives.  Picture  is  clean  and  is 
educational.  Six  reels. — H.  B-  Osborn,  Commun- 
ity theatre,  Mt.  Hope,  Kan. — Small  town  patron- 
age. 

SPEEDY:  Harold  Lloyd— 80%.  Harold  is  always 
good,  but  Speedy  was  not  as  good  as  some  of  the 
others  of  earlier  date.  However  this  was  a  good 
picture  and  did  well  at  the  box  office. — W.  R.  Brat- 
ton,  Stella  theatre,  Council  Grove,  Kan. — Small  town 
patronage. 

PRINCE  OF  HEADWAITERS:  Adolphe  Menjou— 
Very  good. — Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese, 
111. — General  patronage. 


THAT'S  MY  BABY:  Special  cast— It's  good.— 
Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

HALF  A  BRIDE:  Esther  Ralston— 73%.  Decem- 
ber 9-10.  Very  good  program  picture.  Just  the  kind 
of  picture  for  Sunday.  Esther  Ralston  is  not  much 
of  a  drawing  card,  but  when  I  play  one  of  her  pic- 
tures I  can  rest  assured  that  it  is  clean  and  has  a 
good  moral.  I  think  that  is  worth  a  whole  lot.  Print 
and  photography  good.  Seven  reels. — P.  G.  Held. 
Strand  theatre,  Griswold,  la. — Neighborhood  patron- 
age. 

LOVERS  IN  QUARANTINE:  Special  cast— Good. 
— Julian  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Bresse.  111. — 
General  patronage. 


Patke-DeMille 


SKYSCRAPER:  William  Boyd— 14%.  December 
20.  A  very  good  picture.  Any  picture  with  Sue 
Carol  is  bound  to  be  good.  Nine  reels. — Mrs.  Hulda 
J.  Green,  Gem  theatre,  Greenriver,  Utah. — General 
patronage. 

TENTH  AVENUE:  Phyllis  Haver— Another  sorry 
attempt  by  William  C.  DeMille  to  make  an  under- 
world picture.  But  like  near  beer,  it  has  no  kick 
in  it.  Phyllis  looks  terrible,  and  I'd  call  it  a 
mediocre  picture.  Seven  reels. — P.  G.  Vaughan,  Sun 
theatre,  Kansas  City,  Mo. — General  patronage. 

THE  VALLEY  OF  HUNTED  MEN:  Buffalo  Bill, 
Jr. — December  22.  Due  to  the  flu  having  a  strangle 
hold  on  me,  I  didn't  see  this,  but  the  patrons  re- 
ported it  as  a  dandy  little  Western.  Five  reels. — 
William  E.  Tragsdorf.  Trags  theatre.  Neillsville.  Wis. 
— Small  town  patronage. 

THE  NIGHT  BRIDE:  Marie  Prevost— The 
very  few  that  saw  it  said  fine,  but  didn't  gross 
film  rental,  which  was  due  to  Christmas  shop- 
ping, flu  epidemic,  a  revival  meeting,  lodge 
meetings,  radio,  rehearsals  for  Christmas 
cantata,  and  what  have  you.  Yes,  verily,  the 
first  hundred  years  are  the  hardest.  Six  reels. 
— Geo.  H.  Koch,  Gem  theatre,  Lyndon,  Kan. — 
General  patronage. 

NO  MAN'S  LAW:  Rex— December  20-21.  A  fair 
horse  picture  which  would  have  been  much  better 
if  they  had  kept  it  in  five  reels.  The  work  Rex 
had  to  do  was  done  in  fine  shape,  but  the  picture 
dragged  and  was,  perhaps,  the  poorest  Rex  picture 
I  ever  played,  for  that  reason.  Seven  reels. — William 
E.  Tragsdorf.  Trags  theatre.  Neillsville,  Wis.— Small 
town  patronage. 

THE  FORBIDDEN  WOMAN:  Jetta  Goudal— 18%. 
December  27.  A  dramatic  picture — not  so  good  for 
small  towns.  A  very  small  crowd  out  due  to  cold 
weather  and  sickness.  Seven  reels. — Mrs.  Hulda  J. 
Green.  Gem  theatre.  Greenriver,  Utah. — General  pat- 
ronage. 


Tiffany-Stahl 


LINGERIE:  Special  cast — December  10-11. 
When  I  had  this  booked.  I  thought  it  was  a 
fashion  show  picture.  Far  from  it,  ifs  a  real 
honest  to  goodness  comedy-drama  about  a 
doughboy  and  his  sweetie,  and  they  certainly 
enjoyed  it  here,  for  they  laughed  loud  enough. 
Too  bad  the  title  will  keep  away  many  who 
may  think  the  same  as  I  did  before  I  saw  the 
paper  and  read  the  synopsis.  Six  reels. — 
Ulysses  Ponsant,  Bijou  theatre,  Waterville,  Me. 
— Neighborhood  patronage. 

WILD  GEESE:  Special  cast — Good. — Julius  W. 
Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese.  111.— General  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  HAUNTED  SHIP:     Special  cast— 10'i.  De- 


cember 18.  A  good  picture  of  the  kind  of  rough 
stuff.  Fifty-fifty  satisfaction.— Bert  Silver,  Silver 
Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich.. — General  patronage. 

THE  TOILERS:  Douglas  Fairbanks.  Jr.— 100%. 
November  29-December  1.  The  kind  of  a  picture 
everyone  will  like.  Nine  reels. — S.  A.  Hayman,  The 
Lyda  theatre,  Grand  Island,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

LIGHTNING:  Special  cast— Good  Zane  Grey  pic- 
ture to  good  business.  If  producers  would  exert 
the  same  effort  in  making  their  out-of-door  pictures 
as  they  do  the  other  type,  they  would  still  click  with 
us.  Most  everybody  likes  pictures  like  "The  Covered 
Wagon,"  "North  of  "36"  and  "Canyon,"  and  others 
I  could  name,  but  the  producers  think  that  any  old 
way  to  slap  a  Western  together  is  good  enough. — 
L.  E.  Palmer,  Postville  theatre,  Postville,  la. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

LIGHTNING:  Special  cast.— Very  good.— Julius  W. 
Schmidt.  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  CAVALIER:  Richard  Talmadge— December 
26-27.  Richard  Talmadge  looks  better  in  "The  Cava- 
lier" than  he  ever  did.  You  can  always  depend  on 
Tiffany  for  a  real  good  picture.  Interesting  and 
lively  from  the  first  to  the  last  reel.  Seven  reels. — 
Ulysses  Ponsant,  Bijou  theatre,  Waterville,  Me. — 
Neighborhood  patronage. 

HOUSE  OF  SCANDAL:  Special  cast— 40%.  De- 
cember 19.  An  extra-good  program  picture.  Six 
reels. — Grafton  Nutter,  Royal  theatre,  Republic,  Kan. 
— General  patronage. 

United  Artists 

RAMONA:  Dolores  Del  Rio— Every  one 
well  pleased  with  the  10-cent  raise  in  price 
for  this,  and  incidentally  broke  house  record 
of  two  years'  standing  with  this  picture. 
Eight  reels. — Geo.  H.  Koch,  Gem  theatre, 
Lyndon,  Kan. — General  patronage. 

RAMONA:  Dolores  Del  Rio— 90%.  November 
15-16.  A  very  beautiful  story  of  Helen  Hunt  Jack- 
son'6  famous  novel.  Dolores  Del  Rio  is  an  actress 
in  her  own  class,  in  my  opinion,  and  as  Ramona 
she  is  wonderful.  Be  sure  and  use  the  song  score 
with  the  picture.  United  Artiste  sella  its  pictures, 
each  on  its  own  merit,  and  I  will  say  that  they  are 
the  most  consistent  line  on  the  market  and  every- 
one a  special. — W.  R.  Bratton,  Stella  theatre.  Council 
Grove,  Kan. — Small  town  patronage. 

RAMONA :  Dolores  Del  Rio — December  25-16.  Well, 
so  far  as  the  picture  is  concerned,  it  will  stack 
up  pretty  well  against  some  of  my  $7.50  Westerns. 
However,  due  to  the  extreme  lot  of  publicity  which 
was  spread  on  this  thing,  there  were  a  lot  of  people 
in  to  see  wotinell  it  was  all  about.  It  will  draw, 
but  it  is  the  "goose  grease"  for  entertainment.  Eight 
reels.— William  E.  Tragsdorf,  Trags  theatre,  Neills- 
ville, Wis. — Small  town  patronage. 


No  Losses  m  the  Box  Office 

Tw:th  (@®m  Shall 
ICKET  REGISTERS 

Automatic  Ticket 
Register  Corp. 

723  Seventh  Ave.New  York 

Tickets  fit  Every  Purpose**.  LOWEST  Market  Prices 


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EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


SORREL  AND  SON:  Special  cast— December  25. 
Very  good  father  love  picture.  Pleased  a  large  crowd. 
Ten  reels. — J.  J.  Hoffman,  Plainview  theatre,  Plain- 
view,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

COLLEGE:  Buster  Keaton— December  21-22.  A 
very  good  comedy  of  college  life  that  I  played  to 
an  empty  house  the  first  night,  and  the  attendance 
fell  off  somewhat  the  second.  Christmas  shopping  is 
the  answer.  However,  it's  well  worth  playing.  Six 
reels. — M.  A.  Manning,  Opera  House,  Baldwin,  Wis. 
— Small  town  patronage. 

Universal 

ANYBODY'  HERE  SEEN  KELLY:  Special  cast— 
Another  pleasant  surprise  from  Universal.  A  much 
better  picture  than  I  expetced  it  to  be.  Tom  Moore 
and  Bessie  Love  very  good,  and  Kate  Price  contrib- 
utes some  excellent  comedy.  The  plot  is  not  so  shop- 
worn as  most  of  them.  Boost  it.  Seven  reels. — 
P.  G.  Vaughan,  Sun  theatre,  Kansas  City,  Mo. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

CLEARING  THE  TRAIL :  Hoot  Gibson— 50%.  De- 
cember 22.  One  of  the  best  Westerns  we  have  played. 
Story  better  than  the  average.  Hoot  always  good. — 
Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich. 
— General  patronage. 

MADE-TO-ORDER  HERO:  Ted  Wells— Not  any 
good.  Worst  Western  we've  had  in  a  long  time.  Five 
reek— R.  H.  Nail,  Nusho  theatre.  Duke,  Okla.— 
General  patronage. 

THE  NIGHT  BIRD:  Reginald  Denny— 50%.  De- 
cember 25.  A  picture  that  pleased  them  all.  Fine 
story.  Star  and  cast  extra  good. — Bert  Silver,  Silver 
Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich.— General  patronage. 

WE  AMERICANS:  Special  cast— 70%.  Personal 
opinion :  I  believe  this  is  one  of  the  finest  in  direc- 
tion, action  and  story  I  ever  ran,  Americanizing  both 
aliens  and  natural  born  citizens.  Pleased  100  per 
cent.  Some  patrons  saw  it  three  times. — M.  D. 
Frazier,  Empress  theatre,  Arma,  Kan. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

THE  FLYING  COWBOY:  Hoot  Gibson— December 
15.  The  old  farm  horse  doesn't  buck  very  hard,  but 
there  is  enough  comedy  to  make  up  for  other  things. 
— J.  S.  Walker,  Texas  theatre,  Grand  Prairie,  Texas. 
—Small  town  patronage. 

THE  FLYING  COWBOY:  Hoot  Gibson— 58%.  De- 
cember 11-12.  About  the  average  Hoot  Gibson.  Not 
good  and  not  poor.  Just  fair.  Print  and  photography 
fair.  Six  reels. — P.  G.  Held,  Strand  theatre,  Griswold, 
la. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

THE  MICHIGAN  KID:  Special  cast— De- 
cember 24-25.  This  is  a  corker.  That  forest 
fire  is  certainly  the  best  thrill  I've  seen  in  a 
picture  for  quite  a  while.  For  small  theatres 
using  non-synchronous  machines,  play  "The 
Storm,"  a  special  sound  effect  record  during 
the  last  reel,  and  you'll  have  them  gasping  for 
breath.  Well  directed  and  well  produced.  Six 
reels. — Ulysses  Ponsant,  Bijou  theatre,  Water- 
ville,   Me. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

LOVE  ME  AND  THE  WORLD  IS  MINE:  Special 
cast — This  is  also  a  good  one.  It  was  so  different 
from  most  of  'em.  Six  reels. — R.  H.  Nail,  Nusho 
theatre,  Duke,  Okla. — General  patronage. 

BUCK  PRIVATES:  Special  cast— 90%.  Very  good 
war  comedy  program.  Will  please  95  per  cent  of 
audience  that  like  action  comedy. — M.  D.  Frazier. 
Empress  theatre,  Arma,  Kan. — General  patronage. 

UNCLE  TOM'S  CABIN:  Special  cast— 73%.  De- 
cember 25-26-27.  Well,  it's  no  doubt  a  wonderful 
picture,  but  we  lost  money  on  it.  Too  much  flu 
sticking  around  here  perhaps.  Another  case  of  pres- 
tige without  profits,  so  we're  glad  it's  over  with  and 
wouldn't  run  it  again  if  we  had  similar  conditions. 
Film  rental  too  high,  like  most  Universale.  Print 
and  photography  fair.  Paper  good.  Eleven  reels. — 
Wolfe  &  Williams,  Screenland  theatre,  Nevada,  O. — 
Small  town  patronage. 

THAT'S  MY  DADDY:  Reginald  Denny— 
100%.  December  25.  Broke  our  Christmas 
Day  record.  It's  a  very  good  comedy.  Some 
of  our  patrons  are  still  talking  about  it.  Six 
reels. — Mrs.  Hulda  J.  Green,  Gem  theatre, 
Greenriver,    Utah. — General  patronage. 

THAT'S  MY  DADDY:  Reginald  Denny— December 
14.  This  good  picture  was  taken  over  by  the  little 
girl  whose  name  I  failed  to  get. — J.  S.  Walker,  Texas 
theatre.  Grand  Prairie,  Texas. — Small  town  patronage. 

SILK  STOCKINGS:  Laura  LaPlante— This  is  a 
good  one.  Keeps  you  laughing  all  the  time.  Six 
reels. — R.  H.  Nail,  Nusho  theatre,  Duke,  Okla.— 
General  patronage. 

THE  CAT  AND  THE  CANARY:  Laura  LaPlante 
— 100%.  Biggest  business  of  the  season.  Pleased 
95  per  cent.  Suspense  is  well  held  to  the  end. 
Eight  reels. — M.  D.  Frazier,  Empress  theatre,  Arma. 
Kan. — General  patronage. 


Warner  Bros. 

BRASS  KNUCKLES:  Monte  Blue— 10%.  Decem- 
ber 21.  A  good  crook  entertainment.  Well  acted. — 
Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich. — 
General  patronage. 

CAUGHT  IN  THE  FOG:  Special  cast— 20%.  De- 
cember 12.  Just  an  average,  nothing  to  blow  about. 
Six  reels. — Grafton  Nutter,  Royal  theatre,  Republic, 
Kan. — General  patronage. 

LAND  OF  THE  SILVER  FOX:  Rin  Tin  Tin- 
Good  picture.  Plenty  of  action.  Best  we've  had  of 
Rin  Tin  Tin.  Very  good  house. — R.  H.  Nail,  Nusho 
theatre,  Duke,  Okla. — General  patronage. 

BEWARE  OF  BACHELORS:  Special  cast— Decem- 
ber 26-27.  "Snappy,  Frisky,  Risky"  is  right,  but  our 
patrons  seemed  to  like  it. — J.  J.  Hoffman,  Plainview 
theatre,  Plainview,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

GLORIOUS  BETSY:  Dolores  Costello— This  cer- 
tainly was  a  wonderful  picture.  Can't  go  wrong  on 
this  one.  Six  reels. — R.  H.  Nail,  Nusho  theatre, 
Duke,  Okla. — General  patronage. 

RACE  FOR  LIFE :  Good.^Julius  W.  Schmidt. 
Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

POWDER  MY  BACK:  Irene  Rich— 40%.  Novem- 
ber 29.  Just  plain  rotten.  Seven  thousand  feet  of 
film  wasted.  Seven  reels. — B.  Hollenbeck,  Rose  thea- 
tre, Sumas,  Wash. — Small  town  patronage. 

SIMPLE  SIS:  Special  cast — Fair  business  on  a 
one  day  showing.  Not  as  bad  as  some  reported  it 
was,  but  nothing  to  write  home  about,  either.  Seven 
reels. — Geo.  H.  Koch,  Gem  theatre,  Lyndon,  Kan. — 
General  patronage. 

THE  MIDNIGHT  TAXI:  Special  cast— December 
15.  Another  program  that  was  just  fair.  Six  reels. 
— Grafton  Nutter,  Royal  theatre,  Republic,  Kan. — 
General  patronage. 

THE  BLACK  DIAMOND  EXPRESS:  Monte  Blue 
— Fair  business ;  good  picture,  except  the  railroad 
sequences,  which  are  a  joke  to  an  experienced  rail- 
road man.  Why  don't  they  get  a  technical  advisor 
for  railroad  pictures,  same  as  they  do  for  other 
class  pictures  ?  Seven  reels. — Geo.  H.  Koch,  Gem 
theatre,  Lyndon,  Kan. — General  patronage. 

HILLS  OF  KENTUCKY:  Rin  Tin  Tin— December 
8.  A  good  dog  picture.  They  draw  a  little  better 
than  the  average  feature.  Grafton  Nutter,  Royal 
theatre.  Republic,  Kan. — General  patronage. 

HILLS  OF  KENTUCKY:  Special  cast— Not  so 
good.  Six  reels. — Julius  W.  Schmidt.  Grand  theatre, 
Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

Serials 

TRAZAN  THE  MIGHTY  (Universal)  :  Frank  Mer- 
rill— Certainly  up  to  expectations.  Frank  Merrill  has 
quite  a  following  since  his  "Perils  of  the  Jungle" 
success. — Ulysses  Ponsant,  Bijou  theatre,  Waterville, 
Me. — Neighborhood  patronage. 


Contest  Leader 


LON  CHANEY 
M  CM 


State  Rights 

THE  ROAD  TO  RUIN:  Special  cast— 50%. 
December  19-20.  A  good  entertaining,  instruc- 
tive picture.  True  story.  Well  produced  and 
gave  satisfaction  to  the  best  people  who  saw 
it. — Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre,  Green- 
ville, Mich. — General  patronage. 

Short  Features 

EDUCATIONAL 

BATTER  UP:  Good.— Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand 
theatre,  Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

COMPANIONATE  SERVICE :  Dorothy  Devore— A 
very  laughable  comedy  for  old  and  young. — P.  G. 
Vaughan.  Sun  theatre,  Kansas  City,  Mo. — General 
patronage. 

DUMMIES:  ..It's  good.— Julius  W.  Schmidt.  Grand 
theatre,  Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

GIRLIES  BEHAVE:  Jerry  Drew— Personally.  I 
detest  this  Drew  guy,  but  in  spite  of  him  this  is  a 
funny  comedy. — P.  G.  Vaughan,  Sun  theatre,  Kansas 
City,  Mo. — General  patronage. 

GRANDPA'S  BOY:  Big  Boy— Pretty  good  comedy 
for  the  children. — P.  G.  Held,  Strand  theatre,  Gris- 
wold,  la. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

HOT  LUCK:  Big  Boy— If  your  patrons  like  this 
kid,  then  they  will  enjoy  this  one.  It'6  one  of  his 
best. — P.  G.  Vaughan,  Sun  theatre,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 
— General  patronage. 

KILTIES:  Poor.— Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  the- 
atre, Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

LISTEN  SISTER:  Very  good.— Julius  W.  Schmidt, 
Grand  theatre,  Bree6e,  111. — General  patronage. 

MAKING  WHOOPEE:  A  very  good  comedy.— P.  G. 
Vaughan,  Sun  theatre,  Kansas  City,  Mo. — General 
patronage. 

NAUGHTY  BOY:  Fair  comedy.  It  seems  hard 
to  get  a  good  comedy  nowadays,  one  that  will  make 
the  public  laugh. — P.  G.  Held,  Strand  theatre,  Gri6- 
wold,  la. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

PLUMB  DUMB:  Good.— Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand 
theatre,  Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

STAGE  FRIGHT:  A  funny  comedy.  Two  reels.— 
Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich. 
— General  patronage. 

TROUBLES  GALORE:  Fair  — P.  G.  Held,  Strand 
theatre,  Griswold,  la. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

F  B  O 

CURIOSITIES:  Snappy,  interesting  subjects  that 
are  well  liked. — Joseph  Conway,  Egyptian  theatre, 
Bala-Cynwyd.  Pa. — General  patronage. 

MICKEY'S  RIVALS:  Nice  little  comedy.  Two 
reels. — Frank  Johnson,  Opera  House,  Louisville,  Neb. 
- — Small  town  patronage. 

FOX 

HOT  HOUSE  HAZEL:  Fair.— P.  G.  Held.  Strand 
theatre,  Griswold,  la. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

METRO-GO  LDWYN-MAYER 

ALL  PARTS:  A  good  comedy.  Two  reels.— Bert 
Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

BLOW  BY  BLOW:  Max  Davidson— Good  comedy. 
Kept  them  laughing. — Andrew  Rapp,  Theatorium 
theatre,  Emlenton,  Pa. — General  patronage. 

DO  GENTLEMEN  SNORE:  Max  Davidson— A 
spooky  comedy  that  registers  well  with  old  and  young. 
— S.  B.  Kennedy,  Central  theatre,  Selkirk,  Man., 
Can. — General  patronage. 

HATS  OFF:  Laurel-Hardy— Gentlemen  here's  a 
knockout.  Probably  the  funniest  comedy  we've  shown 
for  a  long,  long  time.  Two  reels.— Frank  Johnson. 
Opera  House,  Louisville,  Neb. — Small  town  patron- 
age. 

LEAVE  'EM  LAUGHING:  Laurel-Hardy— Good 
comedy.  Two  reels. — Frank  Johnson.  Opera  House, 
Louisville,  Neb. — Small  town  patronage. 

NEWS  NO.  27:  Very  good  and  not  30  or  60  days 
old,  like  a  lot  of  others.  Print  and  photography 
good. — P.  G.  Held,  Strand  theatre,  Griswold,  la. — 
Neighborhood  patronage. 

NEWS  NO.  31:  Good  news  reel. — P.  G.  Held. 
Strand  theatre,  Griswold.  Ia. — Neighborhood  patron- 
age. 

THE  OLE  GRAY  HOSS:  Our  Gang— Shucks,  these 
Gang  pictures  seem  to  be  slipping.  Good  old  human 
interest  is  what  made  the  Gang  popular,  in  our 
estimation,  and  if  the  producer  would  stick  to  that 
and  cut  out  the  trick  photography  they  would  6tay 
popular.  Also  give  us  lighter  pictures.  This  one 
was  dark.  Title  so  dark  it  could  hardly  be  read 
from  the  projection  room.    Oh,  well,  maybe  we  all 


January  12,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


3 


"My  Favorite  Players"  Contest 

BALLOT:  for  voting  in  the  Herald- World's  1928-29  contest  to  determine  who  are  the  fa- 
vorite male  and  feminine  screen  players  of  exhibitors  and  the  members  of  their  immediate  fami- 
lies.  Choices  are  to  be  made  on  any  basis  the  voter  chooses. 

Voter's  Name  Above 

Chosen  Players'  Names         

Feminine  Player           

Male  Player      ,      

Theatre  ,  Town  

MAIL  to  Exhibitors  Herald-World,  "My  Favorite  Players"  Contest,  407  So.  Dearborn,  Chicago,  LU. 


have  the  flu  eo  bad  here  that  we  can't  laugh  at  any- 
thing!— Wolfe  &  Williams.  Screenland  theatre.  Ne- 
vada, O. — -Small  town  patronage. 

SHOULD  MARRIED  MEN  GO  HOME:  Laurel- 
Hardy — The  funniest  team  in  pictures  in  another 
riot.  This  time  it's  mud-slinging!  Patrons  are 
asking  for  Laurel  and  Hardy. — Joseph  Conway. 
Egyptian  theatre,  Bala-Cynwyd,  Pa. — General 
patronage. 

THE  SPANKING  AGE:  Our  Gang— This  is  a 
dandy  comedy,  though  the  Gang  has  very  little  to 
do  in  it.  Should  not  be  called  a  Gang  comedy. — 
S.  B.  Kennedy.  Central  theatre.  Selkirk,  Man.,  Can. 
— General  patronage. 

SPOOKS  SPOOFING:  Our  Gang — Good  comedy, 
but  not  up  to  the  Gang's  standard.  Two  reels. — 
Frank  Johnson,  Opera  House,  Louisville,  Neb. — Small 
town  patronage. 

TOKENS  OF  MANHOOD:  Oddity— Fair.— Andrew 
Rapp.  Theatorium  theatre,  Emlenton,  Pa. — General 
patronage. 

THE  WAY  OF  ALL  PANTS:  Charley  Chase 
— Personally  thought  just  too  much  display  of 
where  pants  should  be,  but  it  got  more  laughs 
than  usual,  so  much  class  it  as  good.  If  your 
patronage  is  of  very  high  class,  however,  don't 
play  it.  Two  reels. — Frank  Johnson,  Opera 
House,  Louisville,  Neb. — Small  town  patronage. 

PARAMOUNT 

HOT  SCOTCH:  An  extra  good  funny  comedy. 
Two  reels. — Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre,  Green- 
ville, Mich. — General  patronage. 

JUST  THE  TYPE:  Neal  Burns— Good.— Mrs. 
Hulda  J.  Green.  Gem  theatre.  Greenriver.  Utah. — 
General  patronage. 

SEA  FOOD:  Billy  Dooley— All  the  Dooleys  we 
have  played  have  been  good. — B.  Hollenbeck,  Rose 
theatre,  Sumas.  Wash. — Small  town  patronage. 

SCRAMBLED  WEDDINGS:  Edward  Horton— 
Very  good. — Mrs.  Hulda  J.  Green.  Gem  theatr*. 
Greenriver,  Utah. — General  patronage. 

A  SHE-GOING  SAILOR:  Billy  Dooley— The  best 
Dooley  we've  ever  had.  Full  of  laughs  from  start 
to  finish. — J.  J.  Hoffman,  Plainview  theatre.  Plain- 
view,  Neb. — General  patronage. 

WEDDING  WOWS:  Bobby  Vernon— Ho-hum !  The 
same  old  stuff.     You've  seen  it  a  hundred  times. 


Lauds  Mussolini  for 
Stand  on  Film  Education 

Mussolini's  attitude  in  support  of 
educational  motion  pictures  was 
praised  editorially  recently  by  Ar- 
thur Brisbane  in  his  Today's  column 
published  in  Hearst  papers. 

"In  the  present  stage  of  human  de- 
velopment, with  the  stone  stage  only 
12,000  years  behind  us,"  the  editorial 
continued,  "moving  pictures  are  by 
far  the  greatest  force  in  education. 
In  one  hour  they  can  teach  the  young, 
through  the  eyes,  more  than  printed 
books  or  oral  lessons  could  teach  in 
a  month." 


Nice  bright  photography. — Wolfe  &  Williams,  Screen- 
land  theatre,  Nevada.  O. — Small  town  patronage. 

PATHE 

CHICKEN  FEED:  Very  good,  if  not  the  best 
played  so  far. — Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre, 
Breese,  111. — General  patronage. 

CRAZY  TO  ACT:  Fairly  good. — B.  Hollenbeck. 
Rose  theatre.  Sumas,  Wash. — Small  town  patronage. 

CURED  IN  THE  EXCITEMENT:  Billy  Bevan— 
Fair  comedy. — P.  G.  Vaughan,  Sun  theatre,  Kansas 
City,  Mo. — General  patronage. 

FIDDLESTICKS:  Harry  Langdon— Funny.  Two 
reels. — Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre,  Greenville, 
Mich. — General  patronage. 

GLORIOUS  FOURTH:  Our  Gang— Good.  Haven't 
seen  a  bad  one  yet. — Mrs.  Hulda  J.  Green,  Gem  thea- 
tre, Greenriver,  Utah. — General  patronage. 

MOTOR  BOAT  MAMAS:  A  rough  comedy.  Two 
reels. — Bert  Silver,  Silver  Family  theatre.  Green- 
ville, Mich. — General  patronage. 

ON  THE  FRONT  PAGE:  Good.— Andrew  Rapp. 
Theatorium  theatre,  Emlenton,  Pa. — General  patron- 
age. 

PLAYING  HOOKEY:  Our  Gang— Very  good.— 
Julius  W.  Schmidt,  Grand  theatre,  Breese,  111. — Gen- 
eral patronage. 

UNIVERSAL 

AND  MORNING  CAME:  Mike  and  Ike— Not  so 
bad.  Two  reels. — Frank  Johnson,  Opera  House,  Louis- 
ville, Neb. — Small  town  patronage. 

THE  COLLEGIANS:  Have  played  four  chapters 
of  them  and  they  are  well  liked.  Old  but  good  en- 
tertainment.— M.  A.  Manning,  Opera  House,  Baldwin, 
Wis. — Small  town  patronage. 

THE  COLLEGIANS:  Good.  Well  liked  by  my 
patrons. — Andrew  Rapp,  Theatorium  theatre,  Emlen- 
ton, Pa. — General  patronage. 

FOOTPRINTS :  If  you  have  a  non-synchronous 
machine,  and  sound  effect  records,  play  this  one 
reel  novelty  and  it  will  go  over  great.  All  you  need 
is  train,  auto  horn  and  crash  records,  besides  your 
music  records.  Ulysses  Ponsant,  Bijou  theatre,  Water- 
ville.  Me. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

FUN  LN  THE  CLOUDS:  More  of  a  thriller  than 
a  comedy.  Certainly  way  above  the  average  one-reel 
comedy.  Wish  all  one-reel  subjects  were  nearly  as 
good  as  this  one. — Ulysses  Ponsant,  Bijou  theatre. 
Waterville,  Me. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

GEORGE'S  MANY  LOVES:  Sid  Saylor— Good.— 
Mrs.  Hulda  J.  Green,  Gem  theatre,  Greenriver,  Utah. 
— General  patronage. 

HAREM  SCREAM:  Oswald— Pretty  good  cartoon, 
with  a  drunken  camel  sequence  which  drew  hearty 
laughs.  Badly  worn  print,  and  so  smeared  with  oil 
and  dirt  that  the  screen  result  was  mostly  a  series 
of  flickering  blurs.  Universal  must  have  forgotten 
it  was  Christmas  when  they  sent  this  out. — Wolfe  & 
Williams,  Screenland  theatre,  Nevada,  Ohio. — Small 
town  patronage. 

LET  GEORGE  DO  IT:  "Look  Pleasant."  Just  a 
filler.  Not  many  laughs.  Two  reels. — Frank  John- 
son, Opera  House,  Louisville,  Neb. — Small  town  pat- 
ronage. 

NEWLYWEDS  NEED  HELP:  Smookums^Tust  a 
filler.  Two  reels. — Frank  Johnson,  Opera  House, 
Louisville,  Neb.— Small  town  patronage. 

SAND  WITCHES  AND  TEA:  Arthur  Lake— 
Scarcely  up  to  the  standard  of  previous  Arthur  Lake 
singles.    Just  filler.    Good  print. — -Wolfe  &  Williams, 


Screenland  theatre,  Nevada,  O. — Small  town  patron- 
age. 

SKYSCRAPER :  Oswald— This  is  the  first  of  the 
series  and  it's  a  corker.  As  good  as  any  cartoon 
on  the  market. — Ulysses  Ponsant,  Bijou  theatre,  Wa- 
terville, Me. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

SNOOKUMS'  MERRY  CHRISTMAS:  Snookums— 
Dandy  Christmas  holiday  comedy. — S.  B.  Kennedy. 
Central  theatre.  Selkirk,  Man.,  Can. — General  pat- 
ronage. 

SPECLAL  EDITION:  Just  silly.— S.  B.  Kennedy, 
Central  theatre.  Selkirk,  Man..  Can. — General  patron- 
age. 

WAX  FIGURES:  Just  a  waste  of  1.000  feet  of 
film.  Should  be  shelved. — Ulysses  Ponsant,  Bijou 
theatre,  Waterville,  Me. — Neighborhood  patronage. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

SHE  SAID  NO:  Good  Comedy.— Bert  Silver.  Silver 
Family  theatre,  Greenville,  Mich. — General  patronage. 


Censor  Seeks  Statutory 
Jurisdiction  Over  Sound 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

COLUMBUS,  Jan.  &— One  of  the  meas- 
ures which  John  L.  Cliffton,  State  director, 
of  education  and  film  censor,  has  drafted 
and  will  urge  before  the  legislature  is  a  def- 
inite provision  that  gives  him  the  authority 
to  censor  sound  as  well  as  silent  films. 
There  has  been  considerable  controversy 
over  this  feature  of  the  law,  which  was  en- 
acted before  sound  was  established.  Acting 
on  an  opinion  of  Attorney  General  Edward 
C.  Turner,  the  department  has  censored 
sound  on  several  occasions. 

Another  amendment  sponsored  by  Clifton 
is  one  increasing  the  censor  fee.  At  present 
it  is  $1  per  reel  and  it  is  proposed  to  triple 
this  fee,  the  extra  money  to  go  to  purchase 
sound  equipment.  Clifton  also  wants  to  put 
a  number  of  inspectors  in  the  field  to  see 
that  eliminations  ordered  by  himself  and  his 
department  are  carried  out. 


Theatre  Pays  Tribute 
To  Newspaper  Head 

(Special  to  the  Herald  World) 

KANSAS  CITY,  Jan.  8.— A  £ne 
tribute  to  August  F.  Seested,  general 
manager  of  the  Kansas  City  Star, 
who  died  the  other  day  was  paid  by 
the  Globe  theatre,  Kansas  City  £rst 
run  playhouse.  At  exactly  the  time  of 
Mr.  Seested's  funeral — 3:30  o'clock — 
the  performance  was  stopped  at  the 
theatre  for  three  minutes  and  "Rock 
of  Ages,"  which  a  massive  choir 
sings  in  "The  King  of  Kings,"  a 
sound  picture  being  played  at  the  the- 
atre, was  played  and  sung. 


74 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  12,  1929 


CHICAGO  PERSONALITIES 


By  J.  F. 

THE  Row  presented  several  new  quick  changes  characteristic  of  itself,  other 
Rows  and  the  film  business  in  general,  last  week.  Henri  Ellman,  until 
just  recently  manager  of  the  Columbia  exchange  and  more  recently  asso- 
ciated with  Jerry  Abrams  in  the  distribution  of  Biophone  in  this  territory,  was 
appointed  supervisor!  of  the  Central  district  for  Tiffany-Stahl,  in  succession  to 
A.  H.  McLaughlin,  who  has  been  connected  with  that  company  for  many  years, 
both  as  exchange  manager  and  division  chief. 

Ellman's  successor  at  Columbia  was  also  named  last  week,  William  (or  as  you 
and  we  know  him,  Bill)  Brumberg  being  appointed  to  the  post. 

McLaughlin  states  that  he  has  no  plans  to  announce  at  this  time,  though  he 
expects  to  shortly. 


Joe  Lyon,  than  whom  there  is  none  more 
well  known  along  the  Row  and  who  recent- 
ly became  associated  with  DeForest  Photo- 
film  in  this  territory,  announces  from  his 
headquarters  at  806  So.  Wabash,  that  the 
Willard  theatre,  which  recently  was  taken 
over  by  the  United  Theatres  Corporation, 
has  installed  his  product  and  will  open  with 
the  device  December  13.  Harry  Willard  is 
manager  of  the  house. 

*  *  * 

Joe  has  just  returned  to  his  new  job  fol- 
lowing confinement  to  his  home  with  a 
severe  cold,  for  which,  he  says,  a  broad- 
minded  doctor  prescribed  most  effective 
treatment. 

*  *  * 

Among  other  things  confided  to  one  of 
the  town's  reporters  by  John  Balaban  the 
other  day,  the  B  &  K  official  declared  that 
ten  years  ago,  in  the  first  year  of  the  cir- 
cuit's operation,  it  served  750,000,  and  that 
last  year  B  &  K  houses  plaved  to  over  30,- 
000,000. 

*  *  * 

The  Lincoln  theatre  in  Danville,  Illinois, 
which  had  been  closed  since  last  August, 
has  been  leased  for  10  years  to  the  Anita 
Amusement  Corporation  of  Chicago,  Albert 
Goldman,  5  South  Wabash,  was  the  broker. 

*  *  * 

One  reason,  at  least,  for  Chicago's  excite- 
ment last  Friday,  was  Pat  Rooney.  Pat  ar- 
rived with  his  wife  and  son,  Patsy  from 
New  York  en  route  to  the  Coast  to  make 
12  audien  shorts  for  Universal.  They  have 
already  done  a  Movietone  short. 

Asked  what  he  thought  of  talking  pic- 
tures, Pat  said,  "They  are  the  big  thing  to- 
day and  in  time  they  will  be  perfected. 
When  the  phonograph  first  came  in,  it  was 
neither  good  nor  very  bad,  but  in  time  it 
became  entirely  satisfactory.  In  time  talk- 
ing pictures  will  be  regulated  so  that  the 
voice  of  the  actor  can  be  tuned  in  as  a 
radio  is.  In  this  way  it  will  be  clear  like 
the  victrola  and  radio.  All-talking  long 
features,  however,  will  have  a  harder  strug- 
gle than  shorts." 

Pat  the  3rd,  who  is  a  chip  off  the  old 
block,  was  19  years  old  on  his  last  birthday. 

*  *  * 

The  North  Center  theatre  at  Irving  Park 
and  Lincoln,  is  to  open  with  sound  in  a 
few  weeks.  Harry  Radfield  is  the  new  man- 
ager of  this  house. 

*  *  * 

The  Fargo  theatre  in  Geneva,  111.,  will 
have  sound  starting  January  11.  The  Fargo 
theatre  in  Sycamore,  111.,  will  also  present 


sound  pictures.  Along  in  May  the  Des- 
plaines  and  Deerpath  theatres  are  to  open 
with  audiens. 

*  *  * 

William  Brumberg,  who  was  appointed 
manager  of  the  Columbia  exchange  to  suc- 
ceed Henri  Ellman,  began  his  career  in 
the  film  business  when  little  more  than 
a  lad,  being  first  hired  to  play  minor  parts 
in  a  traveling  road  show.  Next  he  entered 
the  newspaper  field  and  was  appointed  as- 
sistant circulation  manager  of  the  Santa 
Barbara  Morning  Press.  At  one  time  in  his 
career  he  was  a  theatre  usher,  and  though 
that  was  before  the  days  of  the  present 
highly  trained  ushers,  one  knows  that  they 
haven't  got  anything  on  Bill. 

*  *  * 

L.  V.  Kuttnauer,  who  is  responsible  for 
Photophone  success  in  these  precincts,  says 
that  the  new  device,  which  will  play  all 
kinds  of  standard  talking  records,  will  be 
ready  in  another  week  or  so.  Kuttnauer 
says  that  a  test  will  be  made  shortly. 

*  *  * 

Frank  Ishmael  and  Max  Schwartz  of 
M  G  M,  have  returned  from  their  vacations. 
Schwartz  spent  his  time  around  Chicago — 
his  favorite  place,  he  says — while  Ishmael 
visited  his  mother  in  Danville. 

*  *  * 

"Submarine,"  Columbia  special,  has  been 
booked  by  B  &  K  to  play  in  the  majority  of 


Echoes  from  the  Tiffany-Stahl  convention 
December  28  and  29.  Shown  are  Grant 
L.  Cook,  secretary  and  treasurer  (left) 
and  L.  A.  Young,  president  (right),  see- 
ing George  Jessel,  star  of  Tiffany-StahFs 
coming  audien,  "Lucky  Boy,"  off  to  his 
matinee  at  the  Harris,  where  he  is  star- 
ring in  "The  War  Song,"  following  Sat- 
urday's luncheon  at  the  Stevens  hotel. 

that  circuit's  houses.  Coston  theatres  have 
also  signed  for  the  picture. 

*  *  * 

The  Lincoln  theatre,  in  Springfield, 
owned  by  Frisina  &  Grachetto,  has  been 
rebuilt  and  now  seats  800.  The  theatre  has 
installed  a  new  Whitt  organ,  and  Henry 
Wagner  is  the  organist.  The  front  of  the 
house  is  equipped  with  a  new  36-foot  sign. 

*  *  * 

Nels  Fischer  was  a  visitor  at  the  Colum- 
bia exchange  last  week. 

*  *  * 

Max  Gumbiner  has  taken  over  the  Lin- 
coln theatre  in  Danville.  The  theatre  was 
formerly  operated  by  C.  C.  Pyle,  the 
"Bunion  Derby"  expert,  and  Harry  Mc- 
Kevin. 

*  *  * 

Clarence  Phillips  and  Oscar  Florine  are 
now  selling  Columbia  pictures,  both  in 
Chicago. 

*  *  * 

Fred  Knispel,  district  manager  of  Colum- 
bia, is  back  in  Chicago  after  spending  the 
holidays  with  his  family  in  Minneapolis. 

*  *  * 

A.  B.  McCallen  of  the  McCallen  circuit, 
has  bought  a  new  airplane. 

Adolph  Siegfried  of  the  Byou  theatre 
has  sold  out.  He  operated  the  Byou  for 
more  than  21  years.  Great  States  was  the 
buyer.  Siegfried  has  not  announced  any 
plans  for  the  future. 

*  *  * 

Columbia  is  handling  Buck  Jones'  first  in- 
dependent picture,  "The  Big  Hop,"  for  the 
Northern  Illinois  territory. 

*  *  * 

Educational  will  release  20  Sennett  all- 
talking  shorts  for  the  season  of  1929,  ac- 
cording to  Dave  Dubin,  Educational  man- 
ager. 


Holdups  Rob  Theatre  of 
$535,  Caught  in  Boxcar 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

LaGRANDE,  ORE.,  Jan.  8.— Less  than 
two  hours  after  a  holdup  of  the  Arcade 
theatre  here  January  2  in  which  Francis 
Greulich,  one  of  the  owners,  was  robbed 
of  $535,  the  two  robbers  were  captured  in  a 
boxcar  and  the  money  recovered. 


Alma  Bennett  and  her  mother,  Mrs. 
Doris  Bennett,  as  they  arrived  at  the 
Dearborn  Street  station,  enroute  to  New 
York,  where  Miss  Bennett  is  to  make 
audien  sequences  for  a  Tiffany-Stahl  pro- 
duction. (HeratdWorld  photo.) 


$150,000  Theatre  to  Open 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

BILOXI,  MISS.,  Jan.  8.— The  new 
Saenger  theatre,  erected  at  a  cost  of  ap- 
proximately $150,000  is  nearing  completion 
and  will  open  about  January  15.  The  new 
house  will  be  fitted  for  the  showing  of 
movietone  films. 


In  the  "^Talkies"  too 


The  fidelity  of  sound  reproduction 
with  motion  pictures  is  affected  by 
every  variation  in  the  film  —  be  it 
ever  so  slight. 

That  is  why,  in  the  "Talkies" 
too,  Eastman  film  excels.  The  great 
quantities  in  which  it  is  produced, 
the  strict  supervision  constantly  ex- 
ercised —  the  resulting  uniformity 
from  roll  to  roll,  day  to  day,  year  to 
year  —  these  factors  of  Eastman  film 
manufacture  are  of  first  importance 
to  the  newest  development  of  the  art. 


EASTMAN  KODAK  COMPANY 

ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 


oi 


T  H  \\  R  E 
IS 

NLY  ONE 

BIG  COMPANY 
SPECIALIZING 
EXCLUSIVELY 


in 


Short  Features 


That's  worth 
remembering 


THE  SPICE  OFT^E  PROGRAM' 


FOR  THE  REST 
IN  SHORT  FEATURES 
SILENT  OR  WITH  SOUND 


EDUCATIONAL 
FILM  EXCHANGES,  Inc. 


Sunk 


Prevdrnl  


MEMBER.  MOTION  PICTURE  PRODUCERS  AND  DISTRIBUTORS  OT  AMERICA  INC 


EX  H  I  BITORS 

H  E  RALD 
WORLD 


Oh,  see  the  man*  What  is 
the  man  doing? 


The  man  is  making  a  "Standing  Room  Only"  sign. 
He  is  getting  ready  to  play  the  Year's  Giant  Picture— 

Ti  ©TRAIL  OF  '98 

Yes  indeed  it's  a  Metro*Qoldivyn*Mayer  Picture  with 
Dolores  Del  Rio  and  a  mighty  cast.  Directed  hy 
Clarence  Brown.    It's  great  either  Sound  or  Silent! 

Member  of  Mocion  Picture  Producers  and  Distributors  of  America,  Tnc. 


IN  CASH  PRIZES 

are  being  offered  to  the  general  public  by 
Universal  for  the  best  answers  to  the  question: 

Whydoalluring 
women  love 
homely  men? 

It's  a  knockout  exploitation  idea  for  exhibitors.  See 
Universal  Weekly,  Jan.  12th  issue  and  following  is- 
sues, for  details. 


With   Olga   Baclanova,   Brandon   Hurst,   Sam  De 
Grasse,  Cesare   Gravina,  Stuart  Holmes,  George 
Seigmann.    Two  negatives — one  silent,  one  with 
sound. 

JTaul  LeniTrodudi 


m 


starring  CONRAD  VEIDT and  MARY  PHILBIlSi 


—StUnt  or  Sound-  Carl  Laeramle  leads  the  Way/// 


January  19,  1929  EXHIBITORS    HERALD-WORLD  3 

when  a  stage  play  succeeds  like  this 


10  WEEKS 

5Vt  YEARS 

MONTREAL 

NEW  YORK 

Previous  Record 

Previous  Record 

2  WEEKS 

2 'i  2  YEARS 

28  WEEKS 

CLEVELAND 


28  WEEKS 

DETROIT 


34  WEEKS 
BOSTON 


4  WEEKS 

AKRON,  O. 


13  WEEKS 

ST.  LOUIS 


4  WEEKS 
SCRANTON,  PA 


13  WEEKS 
COLUMBUS,  O. 


8  WEEKS 
INDIANAPOLIS 


1  WEEK 

SOUTH  BEND 


8  WEEKS 

DENVER 


7  WEEKS 

ATLANTA 


7  WEEKS 
BIRMINGHAM 


4  WEEKS 

MINNEAPOLIS 


5  WEEKS 

ST.  PAUL 


8  WEEKS 

SYRACUSE 


8  WEEKS 

ROCHESTER 


4  WEEKS 

DAYTON 


2  WEEKS 

SALT  LAKE  CITY 


58  WEEKS 
CHICAGO 


tl  WEEKS 

MILWAUKEE 


4  WEEKS 
UTICA.N.Y. 


11  WEEKS 

CINCINNATI 


and  PARAMOUNT  makes  a  great  picture 
out  of  it  and  gets  behind  it  like  this: 


Full  Page  in  color 
Saturday  Eve.  Post 


Co-operative  Newspaper 
Advertising 


Special  Exploitation  Book, 
packed  ivith  real  selling  ideas 


no  wonder  it  cleans  np  everywhere! 

"'Abie's'  $20,000  leads  Toronto"  (Variety  report).  "Smashes  house  record 
Strand,  Providence"  (Wire).  w  'Abie'  $19,500  record  at  Capitol,  Montreal" 
(Variety  report).    And  records  in  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  San  Francisco! 

ANNE  NICHOLS' 

ABIES  IRISH  ROSE 

*ean  Hersholt,  Charles  Rogers,  Nancy  Carroll.    Victor  Fleming  Prod. 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  19,  1929 


QI3ALITY  TALKING 

(pictures 


Pictures 


NEWSPAPERS  in  400  cities  are  telling 
•  100,000,000  readers  in  page  ads  the 

triumphant  story  of  "INTERFERENCE"  and 
PARAMOUNT  QUALITY  TALKING  PICTURES! 


January  19,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


THREE 
WIRES 

OUT  OF 
SCORES 


At  flic  Box-oilieo  ortd 


WHEN  CAESAR 
RAN  A  NEWSPAPER 

Unique  and  Clever  Travesty 

by 

Waldemar  Young  and  Wm.  Jacobs 

with 

RAYMOND  HATTON 

and 

SAM  HARDY 


BIRD 
IN  THE  HAND 


By  Percy  Heath 
featuring 

LOIS  WILSON 


with 


Jason  Robards,  Roy  D'Arcy 
^       and  Dot  Farley 


Directed  by 

A.  Leslie  Pearc< 


ott  i\to  Screen  tit  Ca;^!* 


r0 


100%  TALKING 

AND  LIVE,  MOVING  ACTION 

Produced  by  Al  Christie, 
Master  of  Short  Entertainment. 


THE 

lEUNCHOLY  DAME 

M  BY 

OCTAVIS  R0YC0HEN 

I  All-colored  cast, 

with  the  true  dialect  of 
■  the  famous  stories 

V  Introducing 
^     Florian  Slappey,  Mr.  Permanent 
^  Williams,  Webster  Dill, 

Jonquil  and  Sapho 

Directed  by 

Arvid  E.  Gillstro 


And  Coming/ 

POST  MORTEMS 

with 

Raymond  Griffith 
MUSIC  HATH  HARMS 


Recorded  by  Western  Electric  System 


PARAMOUNT  FAMOUS  LASKY  CORPORATION 
Adolph  Zuko. .  Pres.,  Paramount  Bldg..  N.  Y. 


by 

Octavus  Roy  Cohen 
JED'S  VACATION 

with 

Charles  Grapewin  and 
Anna  Chance 

MEET  THE  MISSUS 

with 

The  Gleasons,  former  stars  of 
"Is  Zat  So"  and  "The  Shannons 
of  Broadway" 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  19,  1929 


Certified  Circulation 

.  .  .  and  no  foolin' 


Certified  Circulation  is  to  the 
Advertiser  What  Certified  Milk  is 
to  the  Baby.  Count  on  both  and 
take  no  substitute! 


The  HERALD-WORLD  is  the  only  pub- 
lication in  the  motion  picture  industry  with 
Certified  Circulation. 

The  HERALD-WORLD  is  the  only  trade 
paper  whose  books  are  audited  by  the  Audit 
Bureau  of  Circulations,  a  neutral  and  thor- 
ough investigating  agency  whose  reports 
are  gospel  in  the  advertising  world. 

This  means  that  when  the  HERALD- 
WORLD  announces,  with  no  small  pride, 
that  it  has  the  largest  circulation  the  field 
has  ever  known,  then  that  means  something. 
You  can  count  on  it. 

This  is  Certified  Circulation. 


There  Is  No  Substitute  For  Circulation 


January  19,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


9 


—Silent  or  Sound-  Carl  Laemmle  leads  the  Way/// 


10  EXHIBITORS   H  E  RALD-WO  RLD  January  19,  1929 

Perfect  Sound 

paihe  sound 

INSURED  BY  DUPONT- 
PATHE  FINE  GRAINED 
POSITIVE  FILM  STOCK 


You  can't  make  a  silk  purse 
out  of  a  sow's  ear. 

You  can't  make  a  raven  sing. 

By  the  same  token,  absolute 
verity  of  sound  recording  can- 
not be  achieved  on  coarse- 
grained film  stock. 

The  recognized  superiority  of 
Dupont-Pathe  stock  for  sound 
recording  guarantees  the  clear- 
est and  most  natural  tonal 
effects. 


With  the  Pathe  Sound  News 
two  negative  system— the  sound 
and  picture  recorded  simulta- 
neously on  separate  film— Pathe' 
Sound  News  is  able  to  utilize 
the  extremely  fine-grained 
Dupont-Pathe  positive  stock  for 
the  sound  track,  with  the  pic- 
ture photographed  on  regular 
negative  stock.  Hence  Sound  is 
not  sacrificed  to  picture  nor 
picture  to  sound.   The  use  of 

of  perfect 


Every  element 


January  19,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


II 


Recording  in 

NEWS 


this  special  Dupont-Pathe  fine- 
grained positive  film  stock  for  the 
sound  track  banishes  the  recording 
and  laboratory  evils  of  other  systems. 
The  highest  or  lowest  degree  of  sound 
variability  is  achieved.  The  chirp  of  a 
cricket  or  the  roar  of  a  cannon  are 
recorded  with  life-like  fidelity. 


Reproduction  of  sound  track.  Sound  recorded 
separately  on  special  fine-grained  Dupont- 
Pathe  positive  film. 


ELIMINATES  DUPING 

Moreover,  with  the  variable  area  system  as  used  in 
Pathe  Sound  News  duping  is  eliminated  because  the 
sound  and  picture  are  recorded  independently  and 
simultaneously  on  two  separate  films.  Whereas  with  the 
variable  density  system  the  picture  and  sound  track  are 
photographed  on  one  film,  and  inasmuch  as  Picture 
and  Sound  track  are  not  spaced  in  correct  relationship 
for  synchronization  in  projection,  it  is,  therefore,  neces- 
sary to  go  through  a  duping  process  to  get  them  in 
that  relationship. 

Thus  Pathe  Sound  News  combines  to  a  superlative  de- 
gree.   Dupont-Pathe  fine-grained  positive  stock  for  the 
sound  track  plus  every  element  of  perfect  sound  and 
picture  recording. 


Picture  recorded  separately  on  regulation 
negative  film  stock. 


Combined  in  the  laboratory  into  one  film 
strip — the  ultimate  in  sound  and  picture 
quality. 


sound  and  picture  recording 


12 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  19,  1929 


The  NEW  company 


INCOR 


NOW  READY 

Exhibitor's  Choice  Selling 

You  can  buy  one  or  all 
You  can  see  before  you  buy  1 


Photoplays  made  where  the  story's  laid 


PICTURES    ACTUALLY  PRODUCED  !W  EUROPE   A  SI/ 


January  19,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


13 


with  the  NEW  idea 


CRATED 


for  BUSINESS 

See  the  World  Wide  Manager 
any  Educational  Exchange 

Physical  Distribution  Through  Educational 


14 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  19,  1929 


make  your  resetvatio 


Hollywood 


all  trade  papets 


HOTEL  ASTOR  MAR 


January  19,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


15 


A.CADEIW1- 
ARENA.  N.Vtw 

AMBLER  A»bl«r  c>Mf. 
VERDIVS4as  San  Jose,  CaW- 

ARCADE,  LosAng  ^ 

GRAND.  BelojU  1U— 
ISIS,  Kokotno.  *n0_  H0USE, 
WAKEFIELD  OPE**"^*.  *■  l 

Providence,  i*- 


of-' » 


ORDERED  YODR 
SHIPMENT 

YIT  ? 


DELIVERIES  ttADE 
IN  THE  ORDER  OF 
RECEIPT  OF 
APPLICATIONS 


BrtsTolphonr 


We're 
Asking 
15,000,000*  . 


If  you  HAD  to  be 
BAD  ♦ .  ♦  could  you 
make  GOOD  ? 

Have  you  a  talent  for 
turpitude  ? 

How  Bad  could  you 
be  — if  you  really  tried  ? 

Suppose  someone  told 
you  you  HAD  to  be 
BAD  to  be  Famous  ♦ .  ♦ 


really  first-class  Sinner 
in  your  spare  time  I 

Betty  Lee  picks  Broad' 
way  as  her  Correspon- 
dence School ♦ . ♦ 

/ 

But  right  on  the  edge 
of  evil  — at  the  very 
crossroads  of  crime  — 
a  farcical  fate  detours 
her  off  the  Easiest 
Way! . . . 


Could  you  become  a      Why?  —  And  how? 


In  brilliant 
full-page  ads 
appearing 

now  m^JrueSlorif. 
Vanity  tfait 'and  7 
other  famous 
magazines. 


john  Mccormick 

presents 


COLLEEN 
MOORE 

SYNTHETIC  SIN 

Iron  the pLuf  by  Frederic  ami  Fannu,  Matron 

?/■///? ANTONIO  MORENO 

a  WILLIAM  A.  SEITGR 

p  a  o  n  uction 


Member  if  Motion  Picture  Producer*  mt 
Distributors  of  America  Inc.— WU1  HrUtys  flaUnt 


The 
Independent 
Film  Trade 
Paper 


EXHIBITORS 

H  E  RALD 
WORLD 


Home 
Office: 
407  So.  Dearborn  St. 
Chicago 


IN  THIS  ISSUE 


Michigan  M  P  T  0  is  ripped  open  by  clash  over  joining  Allied:  Permanent  split  threatens  as  exhibi- 
tors face  serious  fight  over  state  legislative  issues ;  Board  of  directors  changes  vote  to  8  to  6  in  favor  of 
alignment  with  Myers  group  and  decrees  that  Richey  remain  neutral;  One  faction  preferred  six 
months  delay  in  which  to  study  aims  of  Allied  States  organization  while  other  demanded  immediate 
action. 


COMPLETE  INDEX  TO  CONTENTS 


NEWS 

Fox  gets  200  theatres  in  Greater  New  York  and  plans  57-story 
theatre  and  office  building  on  Broadway;  Independent  circuits 
purchased. 

Paramount  and  RCA  reported  discussing  joint  operation — 
Silent  picture  will  be  an  antique  in  30  years,  says  D.  W.  Grif- 
fith. 

Western  Electric  offers  sound  devices  at  lower  cost,  strengthening 
position  of  small  theatre;  $5,500  for  Vitaphone  or  Movietone, 
$7,000  for  both. 

I'm  responsible,  Brookhart  says  of  bill  for  federal  regulation — 
River  romancers,  will  play  Broadway  to  publicize  UniversaTs 
"Show  Boat." 


FEATURES 


Service  Talks  by  T.  0.  Service   52 

Los  Angeles  by  Douglas  Hodges   40 

Pictorial  Section    29 

Quick  Reference  Picture  Chart   53 

Letters  from  Readers   58 

Broadway    24 


DEPARTMENTS 


Sound  Pictures    34 

The  Studio    39 

Short  Features    42 

Presentation  Acts   43 

The  Theatre   49 

Classified  Advertising    57 

Chicago  Personalities  by  J.  F   66 


ADVERTISEMENTS 

FILM,  SOUND  AND  EQUIPMENT— Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,  Uni- 
versal, Eastman  Kodak,  Fox,  Paramount,  Christie,  World  Wide 
Pictures,  Pathe,  Associated  Motion  Picture  Advertisers,  Sonora- 
Bristolphone,  First  National,  Murad  Cigarets,  National  Screen 
Service,  International  Register  Company. 

PRESENTATIONS— Leo  Feist,  Inc.,  Donaldson,  Douglas  and 
Gumble,  Inc.,  Doc  Webb,  Lucky  Boys,  Billy  Randall,  Arto  Hults, 
Vale  and  Stewart,  Carme  Romano,  Louis  Adrian,  Brooks  Cos- 
tumes, Ransley  Studios,  Vocaltone. 


CHICAGO 

South  Dearborn  St.  Telephone  Harrison  0036-37-38 

Cable  Address :  Quigpubco 
EDWIN  S.  CLIFFORD,  General  Manager 
JAY  M.  SHRECK.  Managing  Editor 
GEORGE  CLIFFORD.  Business  Manager 
ERNEST  A.  ROVELSTAD,  .Vewj  Editor 


S617  Hollywood  Bird. 


LOS  A.VCELES 


DOUGLAS  HODGES 
West  Coast  Manager 


Telephone  Gladstone  3754 


EDITORIAL 
AND 
ADVERTISING 
OFFICES 


565  Fifth  Avenue 


.VEIT  YORK 

Telephone  Vanderbilt  3612-3613 


PETER  VISCHER,  \erc  Yorfc  Editor 
JAMES  BEECROFT,  .Yet*  York  Advertising  Manager 

Lormon 

THE  BIOSCOPE 
(J.  Cabourn.  Editor) 
Faraday  House 
8-10   Charing   Cross   Rd.,   W".   C  2 


SUBSCRIPTION  RATES:     United  States  and  its  possessions,  Canada  and  all  countries  of  the  Americas — S3. 00  per  year;   Great  Britain  and  Its  colonies — £l   per  year. 
Other  foreign  countries  S5.00  per  year.     Single  copies— —25  cents.     Advertising  rate  cards  and  Audit  Bureau  of  Circulations  statements  furnished  upon  application. 


18 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  19,  1929 


EXHIBITORS 

H  E  RALD 
WORLD 

Martin  J.  Quigley,  Publisher  &  Editor 

Incorporating  Exhibitors  Herald,  founded  in  1915:  Moving  Pic- 
ture World,  founded  in  1907;  Motography,  founded  in  1909;  and 
The  Film  Index,  founded  in  1909 
Published  Every  Wednesday  by 

Quigley  Publishing  Company 
Publication  Office:  407  So.  Dearborn  St,  CHICAGO,  U.  S.  A. 
Martin  J.  Quigley,  President 
Edwin  S.  Clifford,  Secretary  George  Clifford,  Asst.  Treasurer 

Member  Audit  Bureau  of  Circulations 
Copyright,  1929,  by  Quigley  Publishing  Company 
All   editorial   and   business  correspondence 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Chicago  office 
Other  publications:    Better  Theatres,  devoted  to  construction,  equipment  and 
operation  of  theatres;  published  every  fourth  week  as  supplement  to  Exhisitors 
Herald- World;  The  Motion  Picture  Almanac,  Pictures  and  Personalities,  pub- 
lished annually;  The  Chicagoan  and  Polo,  Class  publications. 

Whole  Vol.  94,  No.  3    (Vol.  36,  No.  6)    January  19 ,  1929 
Advertising  the  Industry 

THE  industry's  need  for  institutional  advertising,  fre- 
quently referred  to  in  these  pages,  has  commenced  to 
assert  itself  in  the  thought  of  various  of  the  leading  pro- 
ducers and  distributors.  As  the  result  it  is  reported  that 
the  Hays  organization  has  under  consideration  plans  for  a 
broad  and  comprehensive  publicity  effort.  Nothing  definite 
as  to  the  plan  of  procedure  has  yet  been  arrived  at,  al- 
though various  specific  suggestions  have  been  discussed. 

We  have  frequently  insisted  that  the  motion  picture1  in- 
dustry is  decidedly  under-advertised.  Altogether  too  much 
reliance  has  been  placed  upon  free  publicity  and  upon  the 
attention  that  comes  to  the  industry  and  its  product  be- 
cause of  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  business.  Too  much 
dependence  has  been  placed  upon  word-of-mouth  advertis- 
ing unsupported  by  printed  advertising  and  too  little  ef- 
fort has  been  made  to  capitalize  upon  favorable  word-of- 
mouth  advertising  by  making  such  the  subject  of  printed 
advertising. 

The  industry  has  long  indulged  itself  in  the  illusion  of 
being  a  well-advertised  and  a  well-publicized  business;  the 
facts  only  are  that  it  has  been  peculiarly  fortunate  in  hav- 
ing a  subject  matter  which  naturally  attracts  attention. 
The  few,  random  advertising  and  publicity  efforts  which  it 
has  originated  have  uniformly  been  both  inadequate  and 
inexpert. 

Hence  it  is  not  surprising,  now  that  the  subject  of  ad- 
vertising and  publicity  for  the  industry  at  large  is  finally 
coming  in  for  some  consideration,  that  many  of  the  ideas 
being  put  forward  are  futilely  academic  or  otherwise  im- 
practicable. 

One  suggestion  is  that  a  weekly  picture  supplement  be 
inserted  in  the  large  daily  newspapers  throughout  the 
country.  We  wonder  if  anyone  has  taken  the  trouble  to 
figure  out  the  cost  of  this,  leaving  aside  for  the  moment  the 
question  of  whether  newspaper  publishers  could  be  pre- 
vailed upon  to  accept  such  a  proposition. 

Another  suggestion  is  that  the  Hays  organization  publish 
a  monthly  fan  magazine.  This  is  the  relic  of  an  idea  that 
has  persisted  at  various  places  in  the  industry  for  a  long 
time.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  noted  that  the  indus- 
try, without  investment,  is  now  enjoying  the  services  of 
several  good  fan  magazines,  including  Photoplay  which  is 
not  only  a  good  fan  magazine  but  is  a  publication  that 


ranks  well  up  in  the  list  of  the  best  and  most  influential 
magazines  of  the  country. 

The  Hays  organization  has  quite  enough  before  it  in  the 
way  of  immediate  and  proper  duties  to  fulfill  without  even 
considering  a  flyer  into  the  publishing  business. 

What  the  industry  needs  is  advertising;  there  are  plenty 
of  publications  both  inside  and  outside  the  trade  to  carry 
these  advertisements  and  the  independent  management  of 
these  publications,  without  risk  or  effort  by  the  industry, 
is  a  very  much  more  desirable  situation  than  one  in  which 
the  industry  would  attempt — and  doubtlessly  with  little 
success — the  running  of  a  magazine. 

While,  as  we  have  noted  above,  such  little  effort  as  the 
industry  as  a  whole  has  made  along  publicity  and  adver- 
tising lines  has  been  both  inadequate  and  inexpert,  the 
record  shows  that  the  industry  has  profited  by  the  individ- 
ual initiative  of  certain  of  the  concerns  in  it-  Had  this 
initiative  not  been  put  forth  the  state  of  affairs  would  be 
much  worse  than  it  now  is.  Paramount  has  consistent- 
ly gone  to  the  public  with  well-devised  efforts  and  while 
this  concern  naturally  has  reaped  the  greatest  benefit,  still 
the  industry  at  large  has  profited  indirectly.  The  same 
holds  true  in  the  case  of  Warner  Brothers,  particularly  in 
the  fine  newspaper  campaign  which  has  been  put  out  dur- 
ing the  past  few  months.  The  Warner  Brothers'  effort  was 
particularly  helpful  because  it  advertised  the  sound  picture 
at  a  time  this  new  subject  especially  needed  both  introduc- 
tion and  promotion.  Carl  Laemmle's  column  in  The  Sat- 
urday Evening  Post  has  kept  steadily  on  with  good  results. 

The  industry  as  a  whole  needs  advertising.  The  logical 
and  proper  course  for  it  to  take  is  to  buy  advertising  space 
in  the  good  publications  now  available  and  not  to  waste 
time  in  seeking  some  magical  and  mystical  means  to  the 
end  of  advertising  in  ways  not  available  to  other  adver- 
tisers. 

•  •  • 

The  Michigan  Question 

THE  Motion  Picture  Theatre  Owners  of  Michigan,  long 
regarded  as  a  model  exhibitors'  association,  is  now 
confronted  with  a  difficult  situation  as  the  result  of  recent 
developments.  The  Michigan  organization  has  played  a 
lone  hand  and  has  played  it  most  successfully.  Now,  how- 
ever, a  movement  is  being  agitated  for  affiliation  with  the 
Allied  States  Association  of  Motion  Picture  Exhibitors. 

From  present  indications  there  is  a  possibility  of  a  split 
in  the  organization  over  the  question.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  nothing  of  this  kind  will  take  place.  The  Michigan 
organization  has  worked  earnestly  and  has  builded  solidly. 
It  represents  an  important  influence  in  the  industry  and  on 
the  point  of  service  it  has  yielded  big  returns  to  its  mem- 
bers. 

The  question  of  affiliation  with  the  Allied  States  organi- 
zation is  one  for  the  membership  of  the  Michigan  associa- 
tion to  decide,  but  whatever  the  decision  may  be,  it  is 
obvious  that  many  matters  of  pressing  importance  close  at 
home  demand  the  continuance  of  a  strong,  united  and 
functioning  local  organization.  This  is  a  primary  con- 
sideration that  should  not  be  sacrificed. 

•  •  • 

The  Fox  Stride 

THE  unwavering  stride  of  the  William  Fox  interests  to- 
ward a  position  of  increasingly  greater  prestige  and 
influence  in  the  theatre  market  continues.  The  latest  de- 
velopment is  the  acquisition  of  control  of  approximately 
200  theatres  in  Greater  New  York.  This  deal  makes  Mr. 
Fox  easily  the  dominant  figure  in  the  theatre  situation  in 
New  York  and  places  him  in  a  position  which  many  have 
striven  for  but  he  alone  has  gained. 

—MARTIN  J.  QUIGLEY. 


January  19,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


19 


Michigan  M  P  T  O  Ripped  Open 
By  Clash  Over  Joining  Allied 

Permanent  Split  Threatens  As 
State  Legislation  Crisis  Arises 

Directors  Shift  from  12-3  to  8-6  Vote  for  Alignment — 
Decree  Richey  Remain  Neutral 


Theatre  Costs 

HOW  much  will  the  theatre  you  may 
be  projecting  cost?  Or  if  you  are 
figuring  on  the  basis  of  a  certain  invest- 
ment, what  can  you  put  into  your  thea- 
tre? Some  things  you'll  need,  some 
things  you'll  want. 

How  much  will  you  have  to  pay  for 
them?  For  a  very  helpful  answer  to 
these  questions  turn  to  the  '"Better  Thea- 
tres" Section  and  read  "What  Goes  Into 
the  Modern  Theatre  and  What  Each  Item 
Costs." 


Trailers  Offset 
Official  Notices 
On  "Flu" in  Texas 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

DALLAS,  Jan.  15. — Theatre  business  in 
Dallas  has  been  noticeably  affected  the  past 
two  weeks  by  influenza.  All  types  of  theatres, 
but  especially  small  houses,  have  been  hurt  by 
the  bulletins  issued  by  city  and  state  health 
authorities  warning  people  to  stay  away  from 
any  sort  of  entertainment,  coupled  with  the 
glaring  advertisements  of  patent  medicines 
carrying  the  same  note. 

Dallas  papers  have  kept  these  medicine  ads 
off  the  amusement  pages,  and  the  larger 
houses  have  overcome  the  ill-effect  by  insert- 
ing trailers  on  their  screen  relating  the  advan- 
tages of  a  theatre  equipped  with  weather  ma- 
chines. Health  inspectors  have  done  nothing 
toward  closing  down  entertainment,  but  have 
stated  that  if  the  epidemic  became  any  worse, 
some  action  would  be  taken  by  them  toward 
this  end. 

In  San  Antonio,  the  "flu"  has  not  been  so 
noticeable,  but  the  condition  in  Houston  and 
Galveston  is  almost  parallel  with  that  at 
Dallas. 


And  What  Will  Happen 
When  *  Theatre  War'  Ends 
With  Its  Bargain  Shows? 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

COLUMBIA,  MO.,  Jan.  15.— This  town  of 
10,000,  the  seat  of  the  State  university,  is  in 
the  midst  of  a  "theatre  war"  which  is  proving 
costly  to  the  exhibitors  and  providing  some 
bargain  priced  entertainment  for  the  patrons. 
This  is  the  second  time  such  a  "war"  has 
broken  out.  University  students  and  towns- 
people are  kept  busy  hurrying  from  one  to 
another  of  the  four  theatres  to  see  pictures 
and  vaudeville  far  better  and  at  cheaper  prices 
than  ever  before  in  the  history  of  the  town. 

T.  C.  Hall  of  Moberly,  Mo.,  millionaire 
theatre  owner  of  Columbia,  who  operates  the 
Varsity,  Hall  and  Columbia  theatres,  is  fea- 
turing talking  pictures  at  the  Hall  theatre,  the 
pick  of  silent  films  at  the  Varsity,  while  the 
Columbia  has  been  given  over  to  a  musical 
comedy  stock  company. 

At  the  Missouri  theatre,  a  new  $500,000 
house  managed  by  J.  D.  Stone,  a  capitalist  of 
Columbia,  sound  pictures  were  started  last 
week  in  addition  to  five  acts  of  vaudeville. 
So  while  Columbia's  two  capitalists  fight  it  out 
for  control  of  the  theatre  situation  patrons  are 
being  educated  to  a  standard  of  entertainment 
which  it  may  be  difficult  to  maintain. 


By  JAY  M.  SHRECK 

DETROIT,  Jan.  15. — The  Michigan  exhibitor  organization  has  been  ripped 
wide  open. 

Just  how  serious  the  breach  will  become  is  another  matter.  One  guess  is 
as  good  as  another  at  this  time. 

There  is  strong  evidence  of  the  situation  becoming  permanent  if  it  is  not 
cleared  shortly.    There  are  those  who  hold  that  if  the  present  situation  is 
permitted  to  continue  the  state  organization  will  be  disrupted. 
What  is  the  occasion  for  this  breach  among     differences,  is  in  the  mail,  or  has  been  received 


the  membership  of  an  exhibitor  organization 
which  has  been  highly  regarded  as  a  model  in 
national  and  state  exhibitor  affairs? 

The  trouble  had  its  inception  with  the  re- 
vival of  Allied  States  Association  of  Motion 
Picture  Exhibitors,  which  is  now  headed  by 
Abram  F.  Myers,  with  headquarters  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

Two   factions   developed,   one  be- 
lieving that  so  long  as  there  were 
doubts  as  to  the  purposes  and  poli- 
cies of  Allied  the  vote  to  align  should 
be  negative.   The  other  faction,  spon- 
soring Allied,  sought  and  received  an 
affirmative  vote. 
The  first  faction  held  the  conviction  that 
Michigan    should   vote    "no"    at    this  time, 
thereby  offering  the   state  organization  six 
months  to  study  Allied  and  to  learn  whether 
or  not  the  new  national  body  had  and  was 
ready  to  inaugurate  a  constructive  program. 

Places  State  Organization  First 

This  faction  considered  the  efficiency  of  the 
state  organization  to  be  of  greater,  importance 
than  national  affiliation  at  this  time  when  state 
legislation  of  a  serious  nature — income  tax, 
admission  tax  and  carnival — is  threatening. 

The  present  disturbed  situation  in  Michigan 
has  developed  along  these  lines  :  A  meeting  of 
the  board  of  directors  was  called  and,  accord- 
ing to  some,  without  knowledge  of  the  busi- 
ness to  be  considered.  With  little  or  no  ex- 
planation, it  is  claimed,  a  vote  was  taken  on 
the  entry  of  Michigan  into  Allied,  with  the 
result  an  affirmative  vote  of  12  to  3. 

Following  objections  to  the  procedure,  an- 
other meeting  of  the  board  was  called  for 
last  Wednesday,  and  the  vote  for  joining 
Allied  stood  8  to  6. 

Referendum  Now  Required 

At  this  juncture  a  legal  opinion  was  ob- 
tained, with  the  decision  being  that  a  referen- 
dum of  the  membership  of  the  state  organiza- 
tion must  be  taken.   A  ballot,  void  of  factional 


U.  S.  Radio  Commission 
Honors  William  Fox 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

LOS  ANGELES,  Jan.  15.— The 
federal  radio  commission  has  paid  a 
compliment  to  West  Coast  Theatres 
and  the  William  Fox  organization  of 
which  West  Coast  is  a  unit,  by  con- 
senting to  a  change  in  call  letters  of 
Radio  Station  KFON  to  KFOX. 


by  the  theatre  owners. 

Another  situation  which  created  a 
stir  was  that  involving  H.  M.  Richey, 
general  manager  of  the  Michigan 
body.  As  a  result  of  his  activity  on 
behalf  of  Allied,  it  was  voted,  almost 
unanimously,  at  the  last  meeting  of 
the  board  of  directors  that  Richey 
should  remain  neutral,  entering  into 
no  factional  fight  within  the  organi- 
zation. 

While  all  were  reticent  about  discussing  the 
situation,  especially  for  publication,  there 
seemed  to  be  a  feeling  in  some  quarters  that 
it  was  decidedly  unethical  for  Richey,  with 
two  or  three  directors,  to  use  the  power  and 
prestige  of  an  organization  to  boost  one  fac- 
tion as  against  another. 

If  there  is  any  ill-feeling  in  the  situation, 
this  seems  to  have  caused  it,  with  some  be- 
lieving that  it  will  be  detrimental  to  the  proper 
functioning  of  the  state  organization. 

Affiliated  versus  Unaffiliated 

The  alignment  in  the  present  factional  fight 
discloses  the  affiliated  theatres  in  one  group 
and  the  unaffiliated  in  the  opposing  group. 

In  this  connection  it  was  heard  frequently 
that  those  behind  the  Allied  movement  did 
not  deny  that  the  purpose  of  the  new  national 
organization  was  to  harass  the  affiliated  the- 
atre. On  the  other  hand  it  was  forcefully 
stated  that  Myers  would  not  be  destructive — 
that  he  would  be  1,000  per  cent  with  the 
activities  of  the  Hays  organization  when  the 
exhibitors  considered  the  Hays  organization 
right,  and  1,000  per  cent  against  Hays  when 
the  members  of  Allied  considered  Hays 
wrong. 

Though  the  foregoing  involves 
Will  H.  Hays  in  the  controversy,  it 
was  intimated  that  he  had  no  direct 
interest  in  the  fight  and  did  not  care 
one  way  or  another  about  it,  although 
he  did  feel  personally  that  it  was 
wrong  to  have  two  exhibitor  organi- 
zations. 

With  this  alignment  it  was  inti- 
mated strongly  that  the  big  theatre 
would  not  continue  its  support  of  an 
organization  which  was  prejudiced 
against  its  (big  theatre)  interests. 

On  the  one  hand,  however,  it  was 
stressed  that  the  Hays  organization 
should  welcome  Allied,  for,  as  it 
was  expressed,  organized  opposition 
means  more  to  Hays  than  he  can 
figure. 

As  stated,  conversations  were  very  guarded, 
yet  there  was  apparent  in  those  quarters  sup- 
porting  Allied   a   tendency  to  criticize  the 
(Continued  on  next  page) 


20 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  19,  1929 


Silent  Picture  Will  Be  an  Antique  in 
30  Years,  Says  D,  W,  Qriffith 

But  Industry  Must  Find  Right  Way  to  Use  Dialogue,  Declares  Director — 
Must  Preserve  Speed  and  Action 
By  WILL  WHITMORE 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15. — "Thirty  years  from  now  there  will  be  an  ex- 
hibition room  in  which  will  be  shown  the  silent  motion  picture.  People 
will  go  there  and  see  silent  pictures  with  written  captions  to  explain 
the  ideas  which  the  picture  itself  cannot  get  over.  People  will  laugh  on  seeing 
them.  They  will  say,  'And  that's  what  papa  and  mama  thought  was  real 
entertainment  30  years  ago.'  This  will  happen,  I  believe,  provided  the  motion 
picture  lives  that  long."  Such  is  the  belief  of  D.  W.  Griffith,  expressed  in  an 
interview  at  the  Astor  hotel,  last  week. 


««T  ET  me  explain.     The  silent  picture  is 
dead  as  a  door  nail.    The  talking  pic- 
ture has  killed  it,  and  if  the  motion  picture 
is  to  live  it  must  de-   


D.  W.  Criffiih 


pend  upon  dialogue 
If  we  cannot  find  the 
right  way  to  use  dia- 
logue in  motion  pic- 
tures, then  motion 
pictures  as  entertain- 
ment may  die. 

"Right  now,  many 
of  my  friends,  con- 
servative people  not 
connected  with  the 
industry,  tell  me  they 
do  not  like  the  few 
talking  pictures  they 
have  seen.  When 
they  tell  me  this,  I 
ask  them  have  they 
seen  a  good  silent  picture  recently.  They 
invariably  answer  no. 

"This  condition  means  this  to  me.   The  talk- 
ing picture  has  ruined  the  silent  picture  for 
the  patron.    It  offers  so  much  more  than  the 
silent  picture,  they  no  longer  can  be  satisfied 
with  the  silent  ones.    They  perhaps  do  not 
like  the  dialogue  picture  because  we  have  not 
found  the  true  medium  for  dialogue  yet. 
"People  say  the  dialogue   is  too 
slow.    They  are  right.    The  pictures 
already  made  are  too  slow  in  dia- 
logue.   Imitation  of  stage  technique 
will  kill  the  talking  picture  if  it  is 
continued.    A  new  medium  for  dia- 
logue must  be  found,  and  I  know  it 
will  be  found.    I  believe  I  know  how 
to  do  it,  and  in  another  year  I  believe 
I  will  be  able  to  demonstrate  it. 
"We  must  continue  to  use  motion  picture 
technique,  the  technique  which  has  made  mo- 
tion pictures  what  they  are  today,  and  add  to 
this  dialogue.    The  dialogue  picture  can  only 
succeed,  I  believe,  when  the  dialogue  picture 
is  essentially  a  silent  picture  with  the  addi- 
tion of  dialogue.    When  this  is  done  success- 
fully you  will  see  the  greatest  entertainment 
the  world  has  ever  witnessed. 

Add  Dialogue  to  Speech 
"We  must  preserve  all  the  speed,  action, 
swirl,  life  and  tempo  of  the  motion  picture 
today.  Add  dialogue  to  that,  and,  boy,  you 
will  have  people  standing  in  their  seats  cheer- 
ing." 

What  sort  of  story  can  you  do  this  with? 
"It  will  take  a  story  with  action." 
Could  you  do  it  with  "The  Birth  of  a  Na- 
tion?" 

"I'm  afraid  I  could  never  do  that  again. 
There  is  no  one  today  who  could  do  'The 
Little  Colonel'  as  Henry  B.  Walthall  did  it, 
but  what  a  picture  it  would  have  been  with 
dialogue.  Boy,  how  they  would  cheer,  if  you 
could  hear  the  shouts,  the  cheers,  the  roars 
of  those  great  old  warriors. 

Battle  Story  Is  Aim 

"I  know  what  I  want  to  do.  It  will  be  a 
story  revolving  around  one  of  history's  most 
famous  battles.    I  haven't  the  story  yet,  and 


haven't  found  the  man  to  do  it,  but  I  will. 
When  I  get  the  story  and  put  dialogue  in  it 
and  yet  retain  the  life  and  tempo  of  the  silent 
picture,  I  am  sure  I  can  demonstrate  what 
stupendous  entertainment  the  dialogue  picture 
will  be." 

The  interview  was  over.  A  clamoring 
telephone  announced  another.  I  walked  out 
of  the  Astor  with  a  new  faith  and  a  new  love 
for  the  motion  picture.  A  man  with  a  great 
faith  and  a  wonderful  love  for  the  motion 
picture  had  given  it  to  me.  Not  a  box  office 
faith  and  love,  but  the  faith  and  love  for  the 
motion  picture  itself  from  a  man  who  has 
cherished  and  helped  carry  the  motion  picture 
almost  from  its  inception  to  its  greatness  of 
today. 


New  Film  Center 
Building  Officially 
Opens  in  New  York 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— Official  opening  of 
the  Film  Center  Building  was  made  by  Abe 
N.  Adelson,  president,  "last  week,  marking  the 
completion  of  work  started  nearly  four  years 
ago  bv  the  building  committee  of  the 
M  PPD  A. 

One  of  the  features  of  the  structure  is  the 
large  number  of  storage  vaults  with  fireproof 
walls  eight  inches  thick  that  have  been  placed 
on  every  floor.  Each  vault  has  a  separate  flue 
that  extends  to  the  roof  and  an  individual 
sprinkler  line. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer  already  has  moved 
to  its  new  premises  on  the  twelfth  floor  and 
the  other  film  companies  are  installing  their 
equipment  and  will  occupy  their  new  quarters 
between  now  and  February  1. 

Adelson  states  that  leases  have  been  closed 
with  the  following  firms: 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,  First  National,  Universal, 
Pathe,  F  B  O,  Educational,  United  Artists,  Hollywood 
Pictures,  Exhibitor's  Progressive  Poster  Co.,  Sam- 
pliner  Advertising  Co.,  Standard  Unbreakable  Watch 
Crystal  Co.,  Inc.,  Harold  Auten,  representing  The 
New  Era  Film  Co.,  Ltd.,  of  London,  DeVry  Corpora- 
tion, Phono-Kinema  Syndicate.  Inc.,  Morns  Kleiner- 
man,  Inc.,  General  Publicity  Co.  of  Detroit,  National 
Film  Renovating  Co.,  Prudential  Film  Delivery  Co., 
Postal  Telegraph  Co.,  Alexander  Kaufman  and  The 
Prudential  Bank. 

Spear  &  Co.,  as  agents,  have  had  charge  of 
the  renting  of  the  building. 


Change  of  Venue  Granted 
In  Suit  Over  "F/ee^s  In" 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
SAN  FRANCISCO,  Jan.  15.  — Superior 
Judge  Cabaniss  has  granted  a  change  of-  venue 
to  Los  Angeles  in  the  suit  of  the  Pavilion 
Ice  Skating  Rink  Company  against  Adolph 
Zukor,  Clara  Bow  and  others  for  damages 
connected  with  the  presentation  of  "The 
Fleet's  In."  Much  of  the  film  was  made  in 
San  Francisco,  and  the  plaintiffs  charge  that 
Roseland  Ballroom  was  represented  as  a 
hangout  of  underworld  characters. 


Michigan  MPTO  Ripped 
Wide  Open  by  Dispute 
Over  Allied  Affiliation 

(Continued  from  preceding  page) 

activities  of  Hays.  The  opinion  was  expressed 
that  unless  something  was  done  regarding  pic- 
tures and  affiliation  the  industry  would  face 
federal  intervention.  The  sentiment  seemed 
to  be  that  Hays  had  done  nothing  to  improve 
these  conditions. 

See  Solution  in  Opposition 

Organized  opposition,  in  the  opinion  of 
some,  would  correct  this  situation  and  avoid 
the  possibility  of  government  regulation. 

It  was  apparent  that  those  opposed  to  the 
Allied  organization  consider  that  neither 
product  nor  protection  is  within  the  scope  of 
an  exhibitor  association,  insofar  as  taking 
sides  or  official  action  is  concerned.  Conver- 
sations would  indicate  that  they  believe  that 
the  dominant  purpose  of  an  organization  is 
for  the  protection  of  all  members  against  out- 
side interference.  On  the  other  hand,  and  in 
the  opposing  faction,  are  those  who  believe 
that  product  and  protection  hold  a  vital  place 
in  local  and  national  exhibitor  organization 
affairs. 

Has  $60,000  Surplus 

A  split  in  the  Michigan  state  organization 
would,  undoubtedly,  become  an  involved  mat- 
ter. The  organization  now  has  a  surplus  of 
$60,000.  Whether  or  not  a  split  in  the  organ- 
ization would  mean  a  division  of  funds  is 
problematical,  with  the  result  finally  requiring 
a  compromise  ©r  legal  action. 

In  sponsoring  Allied  the  money  raised  came 
from  private  funds.  In  fact,  J.  C.  Ritter,  a 
director  and  a  former  president,  presented  his 
check  to  Myers  for  a  portion  of  the  $10,000, 
and  underwrote  the  balance.  Under  present 
conditions,  if  he  is  to  be  reimbursed  the  money 
must  come  from  the  individual  membership. 
It  is  understood  that  already  he  has  received 
a  considerable  amount  in  this  way. 

Among  the  directors  attending  the  meetings 
at  which  the  question  of  joining  Allied  was 
voted  upon  were:  Samuel  Ackerman,  Detroit; 
W.  S.  Butterfield,  Detroit;  Glenn  A.  Cross, 
Battle  Creek;  Fred  DeLodder,  Detroit;  J.  R. 
Dennison,  Monroe ;  H.  T.  Hall,  Detroit ;  E.  E. 
Kirchner,  Detroit;  H.  S.  Koppin,  Detroit; 
H.  T.  Reynolds,  Grand  Rapids;  J.  C.  Ritter, 
Detroit;  G.  W.  Trendle,  Detroit;  John  Niebes, 
Detroit;  Allen  Johnson,  Grand  Rapids;  Eise- 
man,  Flint. 

The  ballots  taken  were  secret,  therefore  the 
vote  of  each  is  not  available. 

While  no  one  would  conjecture  as  to  the 
individual  vote,  because  of  the  secret  ballot, 
there  was  belief  that  among  those  voting 
against  Allied  were:  Dennison,  Butterfield, 
Cross  and  Trendle.  The  leader  among  those 
voting  for  Allied  was  J.  C.  Ritter. 

A  summary  of  the  situation  as  I  observed 
it  follows : 

A  serious  disruption  of  the  organ- 
ization if  it  joins  Allied. 

The  muzzling  of  Richey  in  fac- 
tional matters. 

A  vote  of  12  to  3  in  favor  of  Allied. 
A  second  vote,  8  to  6,  in  favor  of 
Allied. 

A  legal  decision  requiring  a  refer- 
endum among  members,  which  is 
now  in  progress. 

A  hesitancy  on  the  part  of  all  fac- 
tions to  discuss  the  situation. 
There  is  a  certain  significance  in  the  latter. 
The  fact  that  no  one  seemed  willing  to  talk 
for  publication  may  be  an  indication  that  the 
breach  is  not  one  which  cannot  be  healed. 


Fox  Five  Wins  Game 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  15.— The  Fox  Film 
basketball  team,  consisting  of  George  O'Brien, 
Charles  Morton,  Barry  Norton  and  others,  de- 
feated the  Richfield  Oil  Company  40  to  20. 


January  19,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


21 


Runs  700  Houses 


Fox  Buys  200  N.  Y.  Theatres; 
57-Story  Building  for  Broadway 

Purchasing  Independents  Gives 
Circuit  Firm  Grip  on  New  York 

Acquires  Seating  Capacity  of  280,000  in  Houses  with 
$5,000,000  Annual  Profits 

By  PETER  VISCHER 

[Architect's  Sketch  of  Fox  Broadway    Building  in  "Better  Theatres,"  Page  47] 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15. — William  Fox  has  taken  a  firm  grip  on  the  theatres 
of  Metropolitan  New  York.  Obtaining  control  of  200  more  theatres  in  Greater 
New  York,  once  the  biggest  single  group  of  independents,  he  made  the  Fox 
Theatres  Corporation  with  a  master  stroke  this  week  the  largest  theatre  owner 
in  the  nation's  biggest  city. 

At  the  same  time  plans  were  definitely  announced  for  the  erection  of  a  new 
William  Fox  theatre  on  Broadway  which  will  tower  over  the  theatrical  district. 
A  57-story  theatre  and  office  building  is  to  be  constructed  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  Broadway  and  47th  street,  opposite  the  Motion  Picture  Club,  at  a 
cost  of  about  $10,000,000.  The  theatre  will  compare  with  the  Roxy  and  the 
Paramount,  which  seat  6,200  and  4,000  respectively. 
New  York  was  tremendously  impressed     of  these  various  groups  and  determined  the 


JOSEPH  PLUNKETT 

Plunkett  Named 
General  Manager 
Of  RKO  Houses 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— Joseph  L.  Plunkett 
has  been  chosen  general  manager  of  theatres 
of  the  vast  Radio-Keithi-Orpheum  chain,  num- 
bering more  than  700  houses,  succeeding  J.  J. 
Ford  on  his  own  resignation,  according  to  an- 
nouncement by  Hiram  S.  Brown,  RKO 
president. 

For  the  past  ten  years  Plunkett  has  been 
managing  director  of  the  New  York  Mark 
Strand  theatre  and  general  manager  of  the 
Mark  Strand  circuit  throughout  the  New 
York  state.  He  brings  to  his  new  position  a 
wide  experience  in  all  phases  of  theatre  opera- 
tion. 

J.  J.  Ford,  who  is  also  manager  of  the 
Maine  and  New  Hampshire  circuit  of  theatres, 
will  devote  his  time  exclusively  hereafter  to 
this  activity  and  other  theatrical  interests  with 
which  he  is  associated. 


when  William  Fox  issued  his  statement 
that  he  had  finally  completed,  by  purchase 
and  merger,  the  acquisition  of  over  40  in- 
dependent theatrical  units,  containing  ap- 
proximately 200  theatres  with  a  seating 
capacity  of  280,000  and  combined  annual 
profits  of  $5,000,000,  in  Greater  New  York 
and  the  surrounding  metropolitan  area,  to 
be  known  as  the  Fox  Metropolitan  Play- 
houses, Inc.  The  Fox  Theatres  Corpora- 
tion will  own  100  per  cent  of  the  stock  of 
this  company. 

Follows  Cooperative  Moves 

For  the  last  two  years  the  socalled  inde- 
pendent theatres  in  the  Metropolitan  Dis- 
trict, comprised  of  Greater  New  York,  and 
the  surrounding  territory  in  New  York, 
New  Jersey  and  Connecticut,  have  tried  in 
vain  to  form  an  organization  that  would 
function  as  one  cohesive  unit  to  deal  with 
problems  such  as  the  buying  of  their  film 
supply  and  other  outside  entertainment. 
The  last  and  most  noteworthy  cooperative 
attempt  was  made  by  Aaron  Sapiro. 

William  Fox  conferred  with  the  leaders 


William  Fox  Elected  to 
Directorate  of  Harriman 
National  Bank  and  Trust 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— William  Fox, 
president  of  the  Fox  Film  Corporation,  has 
been  elected  a  director  of  the  Harriman 
National  Bank  and  Trust. 

Louis  A.  Gimbel,  a  director  of  Gimbel 
Brothers,  also  has  been  named  to  the  di- 
rectorate of  the  Harriman  banking  concern. 


Mexico  Manager  at  Paramount 

NEW  YORK. — Clarence  C.  Margon,  n-anager  of 
the  Paramount  organization  in  Mexico  City,  arrived 
here  for  his  annual  visit  to  the  Paramount.  hoMe 
office. 


5,500  Seat  House  to  Be 
Built  in  Lawrence,  Mass. 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
LAWRENCE,  MASS.,  Jan.  15.— 
This  city  will  probably  hold  the 
honor  of  having  the  largest  theatre  in 
New  England  until  such  time  as  the 
new  Fox  theatre  in  Boston  can  be 
completed.  The  Boston  &  Maine 
Railroad  sold  to  Herbert  A.  H organ 
of  Boston,  a  site  in  Lawrence  for  a 
theatre  with  5,500  seats. 

The  property  contains  104,000 
square  feet,  and  erection  will  start  at 
once.  The  purchase  price  of  the 
property  is  announced  at  $500,000. 
Present  buildings  will  be  razed  and 
the  theatre  structure  will  cost  $1,- 
000,000.  The  theatre  will  be  equipped 
with  sound  equipment  and  will  be 
completed  within  a  year.  It  will  be 
called  the  Lawrence  Auditorium. 

Whether  Mr.  Horgan  buys  for  him- 
self or  for  other  interests  could  not 
be  definitely  determined. 


only  way  to  meet  the  problem  would  be 
to  purchase  the  theatres  so  that  they  could 
be  successfully  operated  as  one  large 
circuit. 

To  accomplish  the  acquisition  he 
solicited  the  services  of  A.  C.  Blumenthal, 
who  had  been  engaged  in  all  the  larger 
activities  on  behalf  of  the  Fox  organization 
for  the  last  two  or  three  years.  After 
several  months  of  negotiations,  contracts 
have  now  been  signed  by  which  practically 
every  important  circuit  of  independent  the- 
atre operators  in  the  Boroughs  of  Man- 
hattan, Brooklyn,  Queens,  Kings  and  West- 
chester County,  and  a  large  number  in 
New  Jersey  and  Connecticut,  have  agreed 
to  sell  their  holdings  to  Fox  Metropolitan 
Playhouses,  Inc. 

Modern  Neighborhood  Houses 

These  theatres,  for  the  most  part,  have 
been  erected  the  last  three  to  five  years; 
they  are  commodious  and  modern  neigh- 
borhood houses.  This  merger  includes  the 
following: 

Seating 

Name  of  Circuits  Capacity 

Rapf,  three  theatres     4,550 

Siegal,  6   -  -  -   7,961 

Brandt,  7      8,412 

Grob-Knobel,  9   _  13,491 

Toelson,  10   _  14,545 

Hirsch,  1   _  -   1,700 

Schwartz,  3   -  _  _   3,755 

Greenberg,    1   _  -   2,060 

Stoneman-Embassy,   1   _  _    2,100 

Strausberg,  26   36,531 

Rosenzweig,  7    8,349 

O'Reilly,    1    .._     1,400 

H.  Weingarten,  1  .__  _  .....  1,760 

Stoneman-Somerset,  9   10,792 

Delphine,  2      1,514 

Burroughs  &  Boas,  13  10,288 

Frederic  Ullman,  Jr.,  2 —  -   3,326 

J.  E.  Bernstein,  1   _  2,255 

A.  &  S.  Coleman,  1.   _  _   2,200 

Chas.  Friedman,  1  _  _    1,200 

Ruckle  Brothers,  2    _   1,904 

Rachmil-Rinzler,  8   14,412 

Leo  Brecher,  2....  „    _  „  2,529 

Harris,  7   -  _  _   9,300 

Merck,  1   _    1,073 

Calderone,  5       —   8,495 

Stillwill,   1   1,770 

Genesee,  1   _   -  1,650 

Stoneman- Portland,  Me.,  3   -  — .  5,700 

Robinson,  2   ~   3,000 

Salkin,  2  .._     2,289 

Park,  Lane,  1   -  _   2,200 

Rhebem,  6    -  _   7,161 

George  Hanny,  Jr.,  2  —  2,025 

Blinderman-Steiner  M.  &  S.  Circuit,  25  _..30,650 

West  End  State,  1  —    1.400 

Morris  Kutinsky,  10  -  -  13,950 

The  184  theatres,  with  a  seating  capacity 
{Continued  on  next  page) 


22 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  19,  1929 


Kansas  Public  and  Press  Fight  Two 
Bills  Aimed  at  Film  Trade 

Amusement  Tax  and  Censorship  of  Talking  Pictures  Demanded 
by  Politicians  Despite  Protests — Seat  Levy 
in  Missouri  Is  Doubted 

[By  Special  Correspondent  of  the  Herald-World] 

KANSAS  CITY,  Jan.  15. — As  a  rule,  when  the  state  legislatures  of  Missouri 
and  Kansas  open  sessions  that  is  a  signal  for  exhibitors  of  those  two  states  to 
start  guessing  as  to  what  bills  detrimental  to  the  industry  will  be  introduced. 
This  year,  however,  two  such  bills  became  known  in  advance  in  Kansas. 

There  are  two  bills  to  be  considered  by  the  Kansas  legislature  which,  with- 
out exaggeration,  would  do  nothing  short  of  demoralizing  the  industry  in  that 
state  if  they  were  to  become  laws.  The  measures  would  saddle  an  amusement 
tax  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  theatre  owners  and  provide  censorship  of  all 
spoken  lines  in  talking  pictures. 


Kansas  City  daily  newspapers,  which 
have  the  greater  part  of  their  circulations 
in  Kansas,  are  bitterly  opposed  to  both 
measures,  but  a  certain  group  of  politicians 
is  trying  hard  for  the  passage  of  those  bills. 
Can't  Bear  Burden,  Says  Biechele 

"There  need  be  no  fancy  adjectives  used 
in  stating  that  Kansas  exhibitors  cannot 
bear  the  burden  of  an  amusement  tax," 
R.  R.  Biechele,  president  of  the  M.P.T.O. 
Kansas-Missouri,  who  is  attending  the 
meetings  of  the  Kansas  legislature,  said. 
"General  business  conditions  in  the  Middle- 
west  have  been  such  that  the  exhibitors  of 
the  smaller  towns  in  Kansas  are  hard  hit. 
To  place  an  additional  tax  upon  those  ex- 
hibitors simply  would  be  the  equivalent  of 
driving  them  out  of  business  and  depriving 
them  of  their  rightful  means  of  earning  a 
living.  The  war  is  over!  It  is  about  time 
we  awaken  to  that  fact!" 

The  censorship  of  talking  pictures  would 
play  havoc  with  films  of  that  type,  exchange 
representatives  say.  As  the  cutting  out  of 
spoken  lines  would  necessitate  replacement 
by  a  blank  strip  of  film,  synchronization 
would  be  injured,  it  is  pointed  out. 

Public  Opposes  Measures 

The  Kansas  censorship  board  has  a  repu- 
tation far  and  wide  for  being  "straight 
laced"  and,  exchange  representatives  be- 
lieve, there  would  be  little  doubt  but  that 
plenty  of  spoken  lines  would  be  cut  out 
if  the  censor  board  legally  were  permitted 
to  do  so. 

With  both  the  press  and  public  opinion 
against  the  two  bills  it  is  believed  the 
chances  for  their  demise  are  good,  but  his- 
tory bears  out  the  fact  that  it  is  difficult 
to  predict  what  a  Kansas  legislature  will  do. 

In  Missouri  it  is  believed  there  exists  lit- 
tle danger  of  injurious  bills  becoming  laws. 
Governor  Henry  S.  Caulfield  has  announced 
he  is  opposed  to  an  increase  in  state  sal- 
aries, which  is  taken  to  mean  that  there  is 
scarcely  no  likelihood  that  the  legislature 
will  pass  the  expected  amusement  tax  bill 
which  would  provide  increased  revenue  for 
the  state  treasury. 


October  Film  Exports 
Almost  Twice  September 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
WASHINGTON,  Jan.  15.— Exports  of  mo- 
tion picture  films  in  October  were  nearly 
double  those  of  the  preceding  month,  totaling 
30,438,408  feet,  valued  at  $796,510,  against  16,- 
632,985  feet,  valued  at  $410,741,  according  to 
figures  just  compiled  by  the  Bureau  of  For- 
eign and  Domestic  Commerce.  Included  in  the 
October  exports  were  23,034,792  feet  of  posi- 
tive film  with  a  value  of  $550,770,  6,531,216 
feet  of  raw  stock  with  a  value  of  $150,648 
and  472,400  feet  of  negative  film  with  a  value 
of  $95,092. 

The  United  Kingdom  was  the  heaviest  mar- 


ket for  all  classes  of  film,  taking  1,249,463 
feet  of  positives,  272,113  feet  of  negatives  and 
2,247,800  feet  of  raw  stock,  the  aggregate 
value  of  which  was  in  excess  of  $147,000. 
Australia  took  more  than  2,500,000  feet  of 
positive  film  during  the  month,  while  Ger- 
many took  more  than  1,675,000  feet  and  Ar- 
gentina  and  Brazil  each  took  in  excess  of 
1,000,000  feet. 


N.  Y.  Exchange  of  M  GM 
Removed  to  New  Million 
Dollar  Film  Center  Bldg. 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— Metro-Go  ldwyn- 
Mayer's  New  York  and  New  Jersey  exchanges 
headed  the  parade  into  the  new  exchange  head- 
quarters at  the  Film  Center  building,  630  Ninth 
avenue. 

They  moved  from  their  old  offices  at  728 
Seventh  avenue  on  Saturday.  The  items  to 
be  moved  included  7,300  reels  of  film,  15,000 
records  for  sound  pictures,  office  furniture, 
files  and  documentary  records,  as  well  as  bill- 
ing machines  and  25  Bell  &  Howell  examin- 
ing apparati.  All  were  moved  between  Satur- 
day and  Sunday  noon,  under  the  guidance  of 
S.  M.  Burger,  district  manager,  and  W.  A. 
Scully  and  J.  H.  Bowen,  New  Jersey  and  New 
York  sales  managers. 

The  new  offices  take  up'  the  entire  twelfth 
floor  of  the  million  dollar  Film  Center.  The 
entire  exchange  has  been  designed  so  that  a 
magnificent  view  of  the  city  and  the  Hudson 
can  be  had  from  every  window,  and  the  office 
is  open  to  the  light  and  sun. 


Warners  Win  Verdict 

In  "Jazz  Singer"  Case 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— Warner  Brothers 
have  been  awarded  the  verdict  in  an  action 
brought  by  the  Commerce  Realty  Company  to 
obtain  an  injunction  restraining  the  exhibition 
of  "The  Jazz  Singer"  and  all  other  Warner 
Brothers  special  production  in  San  Antonio, 
Texas.  The  Realty  claimed  that  they  had  an 
option  on  all  Warner  pictures  and  that  War- 
ners had  no  right  to  license  these  pictures  to 
any  other  local  theatre  without  first  offering 
them. 


Ohio  Board  Postpones 
Meeting  Until  January  22 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

COLUMBUS,  Jan.  15.— The  board  of  trus- 
tees of  the  M  P  T  O  of  Ohio  postponed  its 
scheduled  meeting  last  week,  and  Business 
Manager  P.  J.  Wood  announced  that  a  session 
has  been  called  for  January  22,  when  the  mat- 
ter of  affiliating  with  the  Allied  States  Or- 
ganization will  be  discussed. 


Fox  Buys  200  Theatres 
In  New  York;  57-Story 
Building  for  Broadway 

(Continued  from  preceding  page) 
of  247,697,  have  been  acquired  under  leases 
having  an  average  life  of  over  twenty  years, 
did  an  average  gross  business  in  the  last 
three  years  of  approximately  $25,000,000, 
and  made  an  average  net  profit  of  $5,000,000, 
Fox  states.  Paid  admissions  for  the  year 
ended  Oct.  31,  1928,  exceeded  $72,000,000. 
Strategic  Link  in  Chain 
Fox  Metropolitan  Playhouses,  Inc.,  will 
form  one  of  the  most  strategic  links  in  the 
Fox  chain  and  will  constitute  by  far  the 
largest  group  of  theatres  under  one  man- 
agement in  the  metropolitan  area.  Several 
of  the  best  equipped  exhibitors  will  be 
made  division  managers. 

Fox  has  issued  orders  to  immediately 
equip  each  theatre  with  sound. 

Under     centralized  management, 
theatrical  experts   estimate  the  ex- 
penses of  the  new  circuit  should  be 
decreased  by  about  20  per  cent,  and 
it  is  hoped  that  the  net  return  of 
$5,000,000  will  be  increased  to  between 
$7,000,000  and  $7,500,000.  All  theatres 
were  purchased  strictly  on  their  past 
earnings,  during  the  past  three  years. 
Fox  Theatres  Corporation  in  its  state- 
ment declares  it  thus  by  one  action  has 
acquired  a  circuit  over  three  times  as  large 
as  its  next  largest  competitor,  which  took 
over  20  years  to  build,  and  five  times  as 
large  as  the  third  largest  competitor,  which 
took  about  30  years  to  build.    The  acquisi- 
tion practically  will  eliminate  all  the  so- 
called  independent  theatres  in  the  Eastern 
territory    immediately    surrounding  New 
York  City. 

Arrangements  were  made  at  the  same 
time  for  the  erection  of  about  20  new  thea- 
tres in  certain  neighborhoods,  to  add  at 
least  $500,000  to  the  earnings. 

W  ith  the  acquisition  of  this  circuit  the 
Fox  Theatres  Corporation  expects  to  do  a 
gross  business  of  $100,000,000  a  year,  and 
including  the  West  Coast  circuit  $135,- 
000,000.  The  total  number  of  seats  involved 
in  Fox  Theatres  Corporation  and  West 
Coast  Theatres  reaches  the  tremendous 
total  of  700,000  and  Fox  states  that  he 
hopes  before  the  end  of  this  year  to  bring 
this  figure  up  to  a  million  seats. 


Milwaukee  Film  Board 

Re-elects  All  Officers 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
MILWAUKEE,  Jan.  15.— All  officers  of  the 
Film  Board  of  Trade  were  re-elected  at  the 
annual  meeting  held  here  last  week.  Officers 
for  the  ensuing  year  include  Charles  Trampe, 
Midwest  Distributing  Co.,  president ;  E.  J. 
Weisman,  Educational,  vice-president ;  Sam 
Shurman,  M  G  M,  secretary-treasurer,  and 
R.  T.  Smith,  Warner- Vitagraph,  sergeant-at- 
arms. 

J.  E.  O'Toole,  Tiffany,  was  named  chairman 
of  the  board  of  arbitration,  consisting  of  the 
following  members :  J.  A.  Kraker,  Para- 
mount ;  E.  J.  Weisman,  Educational,  with 
W.  A.  Aschmann,  Pathe,  and  Arthur  Schmitz, 
F  B  O,  alternates. 


Frudenfelt  New  District 
Manager  for  Blank  Houses 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

DES  MOINES,  Jan.  15.— Nate  Fruden- 
felt, manager  of  the  Capitol  theatre  has 
been  named  district  manager  for  the  Blank 
theatres  in  Iowa,  Nebraska  and  Illinois.  He 
will  take  over  the  new  job  at  once.  There 
are  twenty-two  houses  under  his  super- 
vision. 

Jesse  Day,  formerly  of  Des  Moines,  will 
tstke  over  the  management  of  the  Capitol 
theatre. 


January  19,  1929 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


23 


Publix,  Manufacturers 

"W'OU  wouldn't  suspect  it  when  you 
observe  Publix  theatres  and  witness 
Publix  shows.  But  it's  true — Publix  runs 
a  factory.  This  great  chain  makes 
polishes  and  soaps,  deodorants  and  a  long 
list  of  other  supplies  for  its  600  theatres. 
Many  of  its  products  were  conceived  by 
its  own  research  laboratory,  which  co~t< 
$100,000  a  year.  The  whole  story  of  this 
unique  institution,  the  only  one  in  the 
theatrical  world,  is  told  in  the  "Better 
Theatres"  section  under  the  title,  "Pub- 
lix, Merchant  of  Shows  and  Manufac- 
turer of  Soaps."  It  is  a  significant  story 
of  modern  business. 


Warners  Service 
Pacent,  Biophone 
Houses  with  Film 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— Installation  of 
the  talking  picture  device  manufactured  by 
the  Pacent  Reproducing  Company  has  been 
approved  in  two  theatres  by  Warner 
Brothers  and  talking  pictures  served  to 
both  theatres  by  Warner.  Warner  Broth- 
ers also  has  approved  the  Biophone  in- 
stallation in  the  Lafayette  theatre  and 
"Lights  of  New  York"  has  been  served  the 
theatre. 

According  to  George  E.  Quigley  of  Vita- 
phone,  any  type  of  device  will  be  approved 
and  serviced  with  Warner  pictures  where 
It  meets  with  proper  quality  of  reproduc 
tion,  but  each  installation  will  be  consid 
ered  and  approved  individually. 


Tom  Mix  Ends  Contract 
With  F  B  O;  Is  Reported 
Negotiating   with  Fox 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

HOLLYWOOD,  Jan.  15.— Tom  Mix  has 
ended  his  contract  with  F  B  O,  although 
the  contract  specified  one  more  picture  to 
be  made.  It  is  said  that  the  agreement  was 
ended  by  mutual  consent  Saturday  night 
when  William  LeBaron  and  Mix  looked  at 
the  first  cut  of  his  latest  production,  "The 
Dude  Ranch."  Although  Mix  states  that 
he  is  contemplating  a  trip  to  Europe,  there 
are  Persistent  reports  that  he  is  negotiating 
with  Fox  for  a  long  term  contract  and  that 
he  dislikes  thoughts  of  leaving  the  screen 


Sheehan  Adds  Movietone 
Talent  and  New  Scripts 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— Winfield  Shee- 
han s  activity  in  New  York  has  already 
resulted  in  the  rounding  up  of  movietone 
talent,  scripts  for  stories  and  other  picture 
properties,  it  is  learned.  An  important  an- 
nouncement will  be  made  soon.  He  also 
has  found  time  to  visit  friends  in  Boston 
for  two  days. 


New  Theatre  to  Replace 
One  Destroyed  by  Fire 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

VIRGIL,  KAN.,  Jan.  15.-The  I  O  O  F 
lodge  will  build  a  new  fireproof  building  cost- 
ing $12,000  with  a  modern  theatre  on  the  first 
floor.  O.  D.  AUis,  former  owner  and  man- 
ager of  the  Derrick,  which  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  has  a  lease  on  the  new  house. 


Paramount  and  RCA  Reported 
Discussing  Joint  Operation 

Arrangement  Would  Involve  All  Phases  of  Entertainment  and 
Would  Associate  Six  Large  Organizations  and  Other 
Interests  in  Every  Branch  of  Industry 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  \  ORK,  Jan.  15. — It  is  understood  from  well-informed  sources  that 
Paramount  and  Radio  Corporation  of  America  (R  C  A)  have  entered  into 
discussions  looking  to  a  possible  operating  agreement  between  these  two 
powerful  factors  in  the  entertainment  field. 

Because  of  the  magnitude  of  the  issues  which  would  be  involved  in  such 

an  undertaking,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  anything  of  a  definite  nature 

will  be  known  for  some  time — probably  not  for  several  months. 

Although  only  in  the  conversational 
stage,  it  is  understood  that  the  agreement, 
if  effected,  would  involve  practically  every 
phase  of  the  entertainment  field,  including 


motion  pictures,  radio,  vaudeville  and  stage. 
The  possibilities  of  such  an  agree- 
ment which  is  under  discussion 
would  be  limitless.  It  would  bring 
into  association  such  outstanding  or- 
ganizations as  R  C  A,  Paramount, 
Keith-Albee-Orpheum,  F  B  O,  Publix 
and  its  hundreds  of  associated  thea- 
tres, Victor  Talking  Machine  Com- 
pany and  other  interests. 

Such  an  agreement  would  give  to  Para- 
mount the  sound  picture  production  facili- 
ties of  R  C  A,  a  galaxy  of  artists  of  inter- 
national prominence,  a  nationwide  broad- 
casting chain  and  other  benefits. 
^To  others  it  would  give  the  benefits  of 
international  theatre  chain,  international 
distribution  of  pictures,  and  all  the  facili- 
ties of  one  of  the  foremost  picture  pro- 
ducing companies. 

It  would  give  each  participant  in  the 
agreement  an  outlet  for  product,  the  scope 
of  which  scarcely  can  be  visioned. 

The  organization  would  rank  as  one  of 
the  greatest  internationally. 


Universal  Is  Launching 
Dressmaking  Contest  in 
Gordon  Fabrics  Tieup 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— A  total  of  $3,500 
in  prizes  will  go  to  winners  of  a  dressmaking 
contest  arranged  by  Universal  in  a  tieup  with 
M.  C.  D.  Borden  &  Sons,  Inc.,  makers  of 
Borden  Fabrics. 

Any  woman  who  purchases  Borden  Fabrics 
from  her  local  store  and  submits  a  dress  to 
the  local  store  before  May  15  is  eligible  in  the 
contest.    The  fifteen  best  dresses  from  each 


Flaming  Mail  Plane 
Perils  Publicity  Pearls 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— Publicity 
matter  from  the  Fox  West  Coast 
studios  can  now  be  officially  regarded 
as  "hot  stuff."  A  batch  of  it  was 
scorched  when  the  air  mail  plane 
bringing  it  eastward  caught  Bre  in 
a  crash.  It  consisted  mainly  of  copy 
sent  by  Earl  Wingart,  head  of  the 
Western  publicity  department  of  Fox, 
to  Glendon  AUvine,  head  of  the  East- 
ern department.  When  it  finally  ar- 
rived the  envelope  contained  a  note 
from  post  office  inspectors  at  Omaha 
saying  that  it  had  been  damaged  in 
an  airplane  wreck  at  Fort  Crook  Air 
Field,  Omaha,  January  6. 


store  will  be  entered  in  the  national  contest 
and  the  awards  will  be  made  June  15  at  the 
Borden  New  York  headquarters. 

A  motion  picture  style  show  of  new  Borden 
Fabrics  modeled  by  Universal  stars  is  ready 
for  use  of  exhibitors,  as  well  as  contest  paper 
and  trailer.  After  preliminary  style  shows  at 
the  theatre  a  local  Cotton  Queen  Contest  and 
Style  Show  is  to  be  conducted  in  May. 


RKO  Productions 
Is  New  FB  O  Title; 
4  Firms  Renamed 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— RKO  Productions, 
Inc.,  made  its  formal  appearance  in  the  motion 
picture  industry  here  today.  This  is  the  new 
name  of  F  B  O  Productions,  whose  part  in  the 
development  of  the  industry'  has  been  a  long 
and  honorable  one.  The  familiar  F  B  O  name 
disappears  entirely,  as  each  of  the  four  sub- 
sidiary companies  of  RKO  Productions  was 
renamed  also.  Henceforth  they  will  be  known 
as  the  RKO  Distributing  Corporation.  RKO 
Studios,  Inc.,  RKO  Pictures  of  Canada,  Ltd., 
and  RKO  Export  Corporation. 

Officials  of  the  old  FBO  company  were 
elated  at  the  change  in  name,  feeling  that  the 
new  title  carries  with  it  some  of  the  glory- 
and  prestige  of  the  gigantic  Radio-Keith-Or- 
pheum  organization,  of  which  RKO  Produc- 
tions is  such  a  prominent  part. 

Hiram  S.  Brown,  president  of  RKO,  will 
speak  over  the  National  Broadcasting  chain 
Tuesday  night,  January  22,  introducing  the 
first  of  a  series  of  Coast-to-Coast  programs. 
RKO  acts  will  present  their  specialties. 


Simmons  and  Lee  to 
Edit  AMP  A  Year  Book; 
Masque  Ball  March  2 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,.  Jan.  15.— Mike  Simmons, 
Bristolphone  publicist,  and  Manny  Lee,  Pathe 
minnesinger,  have  been  appointed  by  President 
George  Harvey  of  the  A  M  P  A  to  take  edi- 
torial charge  of  the  A  M  P  A  yearbook.  The 
book  will  be  one  of  the  distinctive  features  of 
the  Hollywood  Masque  Ball,  to  be  staged  at 
the  Astor  hotel  March  2. 


Myers  Quits  Commission 
To  Take  Over  Allied  Duties 

(Washington  Bureau  of  the  Herald-World) 

WASHINGTON,  Jan.  15. — Commissioner 
Abram  F.  Myers,  recently  elected  head  of 
Allied  States,  today  left  the  federal  trade 
commission  to  take  over  his  new  position. 
He  will  be  succeeded  as  chairman  of  the 
commission  by  Commissioner  Edgar  A. 
McCullough.  Appointment  by  President 
Coolidge  of  a  member  to  succeed  him  on 
the  commission  is  expected  soon. 


24 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  19,  1929 


mm 


Show  Boat 

WEATHER  foul  or  weather  fine.  Positive 
dates,  rain  or  shine ! 
Clean,  cozy,  classy,  comfy. 
Shows  without  a  single  blush  or  an  offend- 
ing remark. 
Better  far  than  fills  or  powder, 
That  you  laugh  a  little  louder. 
Keep  the  door  from  rusting, 
And  your  cares  from  you  encrusting. 
Lau-gh  then,  brother,  when  you  laugh, 
You  may  healing  virtues  quaff. 
Laugh  long.    Live  long! 
The  show  boat's  coming  to  town.    A  real 
honest-Injun  show  boat  is  coming  to  Broad- 
way, to  open  at  the  Belmont  theatre  on  Janu- 
ary 21.  The  Princess  Floating  Theatre  Players 
will  appear,  minus  their  show  boat  for  the 
first  time,  but  with  all  their  plays  and  every 
note  of  their  calliope.    They  will  present  a 
season  of  repertoire:  4  weeks  4,  and  only  4. 

The  show  boat  players  will  start  with  the 
moral  drama,  "The  Parson's  Bride,"  with 
specialties  to  eliminate  the  intermissions.  They 
will  present  "Shadow  of  the  Rockies"  and 
"My  Jim,  or  the  Stroke  of  Ten."  And  also 
"Tenderfoot." 

Norman  F.  Thorn,  "The  John  Drew  of  the 
River,"  gives  you  your  money's  worth — or 
your  money  back. 

Universal  is  bringing  the  Show  Boat  to 
Broadway,  a  brilliant  piece  of  publicity  and 
exploitation  for  their  picture  of  Edna  Fer- 
ber's  grand  novel. 

Midnight  Show 

"M"EW  YORK  had  a  new  midnight  show  last 
-L  '  week.  At  the  hour  when  most  cities 
through  the  world  are  quietly  retiring  for  the 
night,  or  already  asleep,  New  York  finds 
fresh  entertainment.  This  time  it  came  in  a 
form  unique. 

Just  before  the  stroke  of  midnight  lines  of 
picture-wise  folk  went  to  the  Colony  theatre, 
where  Universal  has  been  striving  mightily  to 
attract  New  York.  A  new  sort  of  picture, 
with  singing  and  dialogue,  was  to  be  shown, 
recorded  via  Powers  Cinephone. 

The  picture  was  an  audien  version  of 
"White  Lilacs,"  the  Shubert  operetta  which 
has  been  enjoying  a  long  run  at  the  Jolson 
theatre.  The  show  was  condensed  into  a  brief 
form,  speeded  up  a  bit,  especially  prepared 
for  the  sound  screen.  It  was  highly  interest- 
ing and  gave  indication  that  much  may  be 
expected  from  this  form  of  entertainment. 

The  showing  of  "White  Lilacs"  held  the 
particular  attention  of  the  Messrs.  Lee  and 
J.  J.  Shubert.  To  them  it  may  mean  new  for- 
tunes, for  it  may  provide  their  huge  string  of 
theatres  through  the  country  with  a  new  form 
of  entertainment.  Taking  a  sound  film  from 
one  city  to  another  is  quite  a  different  thing 
from  transporting  a  huge  Shubert  production. 
*    *  * 

Wrestlers 

AMONG  the  most  exciting  films  on  record 
are  those  of  championship  prizefights.  So 
great  is  the  interest  in  these  films  that  they 
have  been  bootlegged  from  one  state  to  an- 
other, a  process  necessitated  by  another  of 
those  brilliant  laws  on  the  federal  statute 
books. 

Educational  has  now  done  a  remarkable 
thing.  Educational  has  a  special  reel  of  a 
championship  wrestling  match  at  Boston,  in 
which  Dynamite  Gus  Sonnenberg  won  the 
world's  title  from  Strangler  Lewis.  And  if 
you  don't  think  a  wrestling  match  can  be  ex- 
citing, go  and  take  a  look  at  this  one! 


Love  and  Thrills  via  Airplane 


THE  matter  of  aviation  continues  as  a  fruitful  source  of  motion  picture  material,  and  rightly 
so,  no  doubt,  because  it  is  having  an  extraordinary  hold  on  the  public  mind  these  days. 
These  pictures  show  scenes  from  M  G  M's  new  air  thriller,  "The  Flying  Fleet,"  in  which  Ra- 
mon Navarro  has  the  leading  role.  Opposite  Navarro  is  Anita  Page,  while  the  supporting 
cast  includes  Eddie  Nugent  and  Ralph  Graves.    George  Hill  directed. 


Ramon  Navarro  aviator. 


Navarro  and  Anita  Page. 


A  kiss  to  hearten  him  on  his  flight  to  the  rescue — Navarro  and  Miss  Page. 


PETER  VISCHER. 


January  19,  1929 


Janu 

/N 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


25 


ew  $5,500  W.  E.  Equipment 

Small  Theatre  Strength 

=  Engineers  Alone  Will  Decide 

Which  Equipment  Is  Suitable 

$5,500  Device  for  Either  Vitaphone  or  Movietone,  $7,000 
For  Both — Installations  Start  June  1 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK.  Tan.  15— Great  interest  has  been  aroused  by  Western  Elec- 
trics announcement  made  last  week  that  a  standard  sound  equipment  for  small 
theatres  has  been  developed  by  the  company. 

It  is  agreed  generally  that  the  small  house  has  been  placed  in  a  much  stronger 
position  by  Western  Electric's  move. 


Montana  Burglars 
Rip  Knob  off  Safe; 
Flee  with  $2,000 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
ANACONDA.  MONT.,  Jan.  15.— Burglars 
who  gained  entrance  to  the  offices  of  the  Sun- 
dial theatre  here  Sunday  night  escaped  with 
$2,000,  most  of  it  in  silver,  after  knocking  off 
the  knob  of  a  safe.  The  cracksmen  destroyed 
$200  worth  of  silk  plush  drapes  in  cracking 
the  strongbox. 

They  entered  the  theatre  after  forcing  the 
lock  of  the  stagedoor,  and  knocked  off  the 
combination  of  a  safe  on  the  lower  floor  but 
were  unable  to  open  it.  Then  they  went  up- 
stairs to  the  offices  of  the  manager,  Albert 
Nadeau,  knocked  the  dial  off  a  second  safe, 
tore  down  the  costly  drapes  in  the  entrance 
lobby,  soaked  them  in  water,  poured  nitro- 
glycerin into  the  hole  in  the  safe  and  blew 
the  door  off  its  hinges. 

The  burglars  are  believed  by  Butte  and 
Anaconda  police  to  be  a  gang  of  expert 
cracksmen  who  have  been  staging  robberies 
almost  nightly  in  Montana  cities.  The  money 
stolen  was  part  of  the  Saturday  and  Sunday 
receipts  of  the  Sundial  and  Bluebird  theatres. 


Eherhardt  on  Publicity 
And  Advertising  Staff 
Of  Electrical  Research 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— P.  L.  Thomson,  di- 
rector of  public  relations  for  Western  Electric 
Company,  has  announced  the  appointment  of 
Walter  F.  Eberhardt,  for  seven  years  with 
First  National  Pictures,  as  a  member  of  his 
staff  handling  the  trade  paper  advertising  and 
publicity  for  the  Electrical  Research  Products 
Corporation.  This  is  Western  Electric's  sub- 
sidiary, embracing  that  company's  activities  in 
the  field  of  sound  pictures,  including  the  manu- 
facture and  installation  of  talking^  picture 
equipment.    Eberhardt  will  be  at  195  Broad- 


Theatre  Bandit  Is  Fooled 
As  He  Attacks  Policeman 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

FRESNO,  CAL.,  Jan.  15.— A  plot  to  hold 
up  two  moving  picture  theatres  was  foiled 
when  a  man  who  gave  his  name  as  Harold 
McClearen  attempted  to  blackjack  a  police 
officer  with  the  idea  of  obtaining  his  uni- 
form and  thus  gaining  admission  to  the  box 
offices,  police  declared.  He  was  overpow- 
ered. 


(< 


Singing  Fool"  Plays  to 
Twice  Town's  Population 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15  —  Reports  are  that  Al 
Jolson  in  the  "Singing  Fool"  played  to  twice 
the  population  of  Altoona,  Pennsylvania.  Not 
only  did  the  heavy  patronage  come  from  Al- 
toona, but  from  the  surrounding  districts  as 
well. 


The  announcement  made  last  week  by  Elec- 
trical Research  Products  read  as  follows: 

"We  take  pleasure  in  announcing  the  de- 
velopment of  a  standard  Western  Electric 
sound  equipment  specially  adapted  for  small 
theatres. 

"We  are  prepared  to  accept  orders 
now  for  these  equipments  for  instal- 
lation after  June  1,  1929,  for  either 
Vitaphone  or  Movietone  productions 
only,  at  a  price  of  $5,500,  including 
installation,  and  for  dual  equipments 
for  both  Vitaphone  and  Movietone  at 
a  price  of  $7,000,  including  installa- 
tion." 

The  question  immediately  arose  as  to  what 
the  companv  means  by  the  small  theatre,  and 
who  will  decide  whether  the  small  equipment 
or  the  large  now  in  use  will  be  satisfactory 
for  any  theatre. 

Only  Survey  Will  Decide 

Western  Electric's  position  in  the  matter  is 
that  no  arbitrary'  seating  capacity  figure  can 
be  fixed  to  determine  the  size  house  where  the 
small  equipment  will  be  satisfactory'-  The 
acoustic  qualities  of  houses  vary  to  such  an 
extent,  it  points  out,  that  only  a  survey  by  the 
company's  engineers  can  determine  what 
equipment  is  suitable  for  any  given  house. 
Thus  the  question  of  what  equipment  shall  be 
installed  in  any  house  will  be  left  up  to  the 
acoustic  engineers. 

The  Herald-World  asked  officials  ot  the 
company  this  question : 

"In  the  case  where  an  exhibitor,  who  has 
already  contracted  for  the  present  type  equip- 
ment, but  whose  house  is  small  enough  to  use 
the  smaller  equipment,  asks  for  a  new  con- 
tract calling  for  the  smaller  equipment,  will 
this  be  done?"  The  answer  to  the  question 
was  that  this  situation  undoubtedly  would 
arise  but  that  the  company  was  at  present  not 
prepared  to  answer  it. 

Equipment  Passes  Test 

With  the  announcement  of  the  smaller 
equipment,  lames  E.  Otterson.  president  oi 
Electrical  Research  Products,  Inc.,  made  the 
following  comment : 

"The  information  that  Western  Electric  has 


perfected  a  new  model  sound  equipment  tor 
small  theatres  will,  I  dare  say,  be  good  news 
to  the  thousands  of  small  theatre  owners  who 
have  been  awaiting  a  dependable  sound  system 
within  reach  of  their  pocketbook. 

"As  I  have  previously  pointed  out,  we  have 
all  along  been  mindful  of  the  needs  of  the 
small  theatre  owners,  and  while  our  engineer- 
ing and  installing  staffs  have  been  at  work  on 
existing  systems  they  have  been  gaining  valu- 
able experience  in  relation  to  the  design  and 
operation  of  the  units  adapted  to  the  smaller 
house.  This  new  equipment  has  now  passed 
the  acid  test  and  has  been  placed  m  the  fac- 
torv  for  production. 

Installations  Start  in  June 

"Orders  already  on  our  books  for  present 
tvpes  of  apparatus,  even  at  our  increased  1929 
manufacturing  schedule  of  250  installations 
per  month,  will  keep  our  factory  and  installa- 
tion department  working  at  top  speed  until  the 
late  spring,  but  we  are  now  able  to  assure  in- 
stallations of  the  new  equipments  beginning 
Tune  1st,  and  the  trade  may  be  sure  that  the 
Western  Electric  has  a  full  sense  of  meeting 
its  responsibilities  on  the  new  models.  Thev 
are,  of  course,  made  with  the  same  care  and 
in  the  same  factory  as  the  equipments  now  in 
use  and  the  same  nationwide  servicing  organ- 
ization will  insure  their  being  kept  at  maxi- 
mum operating  efficiency. 

"I  need  hardly  comment  upon  the  great  sig- 
nificance of  today's  announcement  to  the  mo- 
tion picture  industry  and  tne  millions  of  people 
who  depend  upon  the  small  theatres  for  their 
entertainment.  When  sound  pictures  were  first 
conceived  it  was  recognized  that  they  would 
bring  the  greatest  transformation  in  entertain- 
ment standards  to  the  small  town  patrons  ot 
the  motion  picture  unaccustomed  to  the  large 
scale  presentations  of  first-run  theatres  in  the 
large  cities.  But,  if,  in  the  unprecedented  rush 
for  theatre  equipments  for  sound  pictures,  the 
small  theatres  as  a  group  have  had  to  await 
the  development  of  apparatus  specially  de- 
signed for  their  needs,  it  is,  I  think,  fortunate 
that  for  the  most  part  they  have  heeded  the 
advice  of  leaders  in  the  industry  not  to  experi- 
ment with  untried  systems." 


Import  Austrian  Picture 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— "The  Prince  and 
the  Dancer,"  a  picture  made  in  Austria,  will 
be  imported  by  the  Wide  World  Pictures.  The 
photoplay  is  a  story  of  the  night  life  of  the 
gay  capitol  in  Vienna. 


Ohioan  Drafts  Law  to  Censor  Sound 

and  All  Theatre  Advertising  Matter 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

COLUMBUS,  Jan.  IS.— John  L.  Clifton,  head  of  the  Department  of  Education 
of  Ohio  and  as  such  head  of  the  censor  department,  has  prepared  a  draft  law  to 
tighten  the  censorship  in  the  state.  The  amendments  P/ov'^e  for  the  deBmte 
censorship  of  sound  and  also  of  advertising  matter  displayed  at  motion  picture 
theatres  This  is  the  first  time,  it  is  believed,  that  any  attempt  has  been  made  to 
censor  advertisements  at  theatres.  .  .  ...  «-,; 

The  amendment  also  provides  for  larger  censorship  fees.  It  ,s  bel  **ef*'°'" 
stands  a  good  chance  of  passage  as  Clifton  has  the  support  of  many  of  the  women  s 
clubs,  parent-teachers'  associations  and  similar  organizations. 


26 


EXHIBITORS  HERALD-WORLD 


January  19,  1929 


River  Romancers  to  Play  Broadway; 
Qag  for  Universal  "Show  Boat" 

First  Night  Performance  at  Belmont  Practically  Sold  Out  in  Unique  Test 
For  Stage  and  Screen,  Says  Reichenbach 

(Special  to  the  Herald-World) 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  15.— Beginning  the  21st  of  this  month  and  lasting  four 
weeks,  a  unique  experiment  both  for  the  stage  and  screen  will  be  held 
at  the  Belmont  theatre  here.  Harry  Reichenbach,  special  exploitation 
man  for  Carl  Laemmle,  says  the  experiment  is  a  "natural"  and  wise  showmen 
along  Broadway  agree  with  Harry. 


TJERE'S  the  gag.    A  real  troupe  of  show 

-1  -*-  boat  actors  will  present  its  repertoire  of 

four  plays  at  the  Belmont.  Five-fifty  is  the 
opening  night  admis- 


sion and,  thereafter, 
novelty  seekers  will 
pay  a  top  price  of 
$2.50  to  see  the  river 
romancers  do  their 
stuff.  The  plays  will 
be  presented  just  as 
they  are  given  to  the 
people  of  the  river 
towns  along  the  Mis- 
souri, Mississippi  and 
Kentucky.  Even  the 
regular  show  boat 
settings,    only  eight 


USed,    and   nightly   the  Harry  Relrhenbach 

weird    strains    of  a 

compressed  air  calliope  will  attract  playgoers 
to  the  Belmont  door  at  showtime. 

It  is  a  stunt  of  publicize  Universal's  "Show 
Boat,"  starring  Laura  LaPlante,  which  will 
begin  its  Broadway  run  on  the  heels  of  the 
Belmont  experiment.  Universal  expects  to 
make  a  profit  on  the  experiment  as  well  as 
receive  valuable  publicity  for  the  screen  show. 
Already,  according  to  Reichenbach,  the  first 
night  performance  is  practically  sold  out,  and 
the  New